That's why this payer's pioneering approach to technology assessment may surprise you. Health insurance premiums are ticking up again, and medical costs are back in the news. One insurer, Blue Shield of California, has been leading the way in technology assessment for more than two decades. It has grappled with the most controversial and complex devices and therapies of our time.
Location is a factor.
The Medical Policy Committee on Quality and Technology, as Blue Shield's analytic body is called, has frequently been first to tackle the job of separating proven beneficial innovations from ideas that could later pan out but remain investigational, no matter their promotion by individual practitioners - and, increasingly, by medical manufacturers. The committee's influence also stems from its rigorous scientific approach, which uses detailed criteria and outcomes studies. As a result, the committee has helped set the standard for other panels around the world. The most unusual and powerful element of the committee's structure is its openness. Blue Shield decides whether to pay for a new technology in a public forum - deliberating and voting in front of anyone who wants to watch.