June 29, 2018
Dive
Brief:
- A
Minneapolis-based startup founded by former Dignity Health CEO Tony Miller
is offering companies and employees a way to purchase health insurance
on-demand, CNBC reported.
- Using
machine learning and algorithms, Bind Benefits breaks out specific
procedures to lower costs. Its plans have no deductibles for primary care,
specialist visits, maternity and hospital care, medications and cancer treatment.
Basic co-pays for core medical coverage are priced on a sliding scale.
Extra co-pays for elective procedures are based on the total cost, which
consumers get ahead of time.
- The 2-year-old startup’s financial
backers include Ascension Ventures, Lemhi Ventures and
UnitedHealthcare.
Dive
Insight:
On-demand
services are growing, with companies like Uber and Lyft for transportation and
Blue Apron meal kits. Bind’s à la carte approach to coverage could
encourage more people to get insured and eliminate fears of surprise medical
bills for uncovered services.
The
company’s mobile app allows users to compare costs for services and procedures
at different sites, such as retail clinics and urgent care centers.
Bind
officially launched in February following a $60 million funding roundled
by Lemhi Ventures, where Miller is a managing partner.
By
being up-front about costs, Bind can help employees and employers save up to
15%, Miller told CNBC.
“A
market might be $6,000 to $24,000 for knee arthroscopy,” he said. “What Bind
does is say (for) the $6,000 performer — you only have to pay $1,000 to have
access to them. If you want to go to the $24,000 knee arthroscopy with no
difference in quality, no difference in performance, you have to pay $6,000 as
a consumer.”
Other
startups have tried to disrupt the traditional health insurance market. For
example, Oscar Health launched in 2012 with the idea of using technology and
data to improve the customer experience. The company, which began with a focus
on Affordable Care Act plans, includes a mobile app for scheduling appointments
and doctor consults.
Oscar recently raised $165 million from
a group of investors, boosting the company’s value to more than $3
million. The company announced plans to expand its marketplace footprint.
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