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Shields targets limited network health care plans

Boston Business Journal

February 25, 2011

Shields Health Care Group, which runs 20 free-standing outpatient MRI facilities around the state, is getting a boost from large health care payers looking to trim costs. The company, with much lower overhead than large hospitals, is getting attention from insurers and other payers as they begin to roll out “tiered,” or limited, networks that will incentivize patients to use lower-cost providers.

“We find that average MRI scans are around $500 and can be at least twice that at some hospitals,” Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts CEO Andrew Dreyfus said. “And it’s not a procedure where there is a tremendous variation in quality.” As part of its Hospital Choice health plan that Blue Cross rolled out in January, the insurer will charge patients in the plan significantly lower co-pays to use Shields facilities versus many hospitals. Dreyfus also said the insurer is developing an iPhone application that would let patients know which health care options are nearby and how much they cost, including Shields MRI centers.

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