Nov. 2, 2009 (Business Wire) -- The uninsured and underinsured have a new low-cost option for obtaining health care services and prescriptions at significantly reduced prices, thanks to Transparent Health Network, a unique non-insurance health care access plan introduced today in the New York metropolitan area.

For a low monthly fee -- $39 for an individual; $54 for a family -- Transparent Health Network members gain access to a rapidly growing provider roster that includes primary care, specialist and ancillary health care providers who have contracted to care for them at dramatically reduced fees. They also gain access to extensive discounted pharmacy benefits, available exclusively at 400 Rite Aid stores across the New York area. Transparent Health Network is not insurance, so in return for the reduced fees, members pay the providers directly, at the time they receive care.

“Transparent Health Network is, quite simply, a health care access model that makes sense. More and more people have been losing their insurance coverage or finding themselves unable to afford the premiums. Now, for the first time, there’s a way for providers to help them,” said Leon Smith, MD, past chairman of Medicine, St. Michael’s Medical Center, Newark, NJ. “Unlike any plan I know of, Transparent Health Network levels the playing field for these patients by providing both fair prices and true transparency, so they can make educated decisions about their care.”

Health care services are one of the most important purchases an individual can make, yet most people seek care blindly, without any idea how much it will cost, how much their insurance companies will pay their providers, or how much they will be reimbursed. Medical fees are rarely posted, and vary greatly from one provider to the next for the same services. Further, one insurer might negotiate many different fees for the same service with different providers. Typically, uninsured patients are charged “usual and customary fees,” which can be as much as 42% to over 300% more than providers accept from Medicare. By serving as an advocate for its members, Transparent Health Network uses the power of its network to negotiate fees with participating providers and provides transparency to members so they can make informed, value-driven choices about their health care.

“Transparent Health Network was created on the premise that health care can and should be affordable, even if health insurance is not,” said Betty Heiman, CEO and founder of Transparent Health Network.