Open Health Market has a new way for potential employers to buy health care services. They are matching self-insured businesses with medical providers through direct contracts. What this does is bypasses normal traditional insurance. Businesses will post a request for proposal and a provider, located anywhere, can compete for that business. A little more than a third of New Hampshire health insurance members were self-insured in 2008. Efforts have dramatically increased to get business such as theirs. Consumers have proven they will travel for services and that opens the door for companies like Open Health Market.

A director of associate health and wellness was able to negotiate prices for hip replacements from $50,000 to $18,000 after investigating that he could send people to Singapore for $10,000.

Under the current PPO of health insurance, consumers have a wide variety of hospitals they can choose from. If Open Health Market succeeds that will change.