Health Pocket - Wasington
HealthPocket is a new technology company that compares and ranks all the health plans available -- all at once.HealthPocket will help you:Find the highest quality and lowest priced health insurance,Save on your out-of-pocket costs for healthcare,HealthPocket is unique because: You pay nothing to use the site - Our service is 100% free to the consumer and our revenues are advertising-based. We show you all the options - We get our data from unbiased government, nonprofit and commercial sources.Our ratings are based on independent quality reviews - We are not affiliated with insurance companies, drug companies or their agents.
We simplify your decisions - We filter the options for you – we believe consumers should be able to make informed choices about health insurance without needing a Ph.D. in healthcare economics.You keep your privacy - All you need is your zip code and we do not require you to provide personal information to use our site.Until now, the tools available to help consumers make informed decisions about their health insurance weren’t good enough, and the information presented to them was limited and biased. We knew we could do better with HealthPocket.com.
The big question for health insurance shoppers is whether they’ll make good choices. The reality is that today, too many Americans overpay for their health insurance and still don’t get the plan that’s best for them. Learn more about this Problem.To fill the void of reliable information and help consumers make informed healthcare decisions, HealthPocket.com uses vast amounts of government, non-profit and private data, and presents it in a simple way. Our website meets two fundamental needs experienced by consumers when shopping for health insurance
All current commercial online insurance tools have at least one fatal flaw – they steer you toward health plans that pay more to the owner of the website. Stated another way, financial considerations render all other commercial websites incomplete, biased, or both. Additionally, most services also require consumers to divulge private information like email addresses or phone numbers before they can compare insurance plans. In many cases, this information is sold to multiple insurance agents and call centers, resulting in a very poor customer experience.
Government websites, while not necessarily biased, do not have a comprehensive list of all forms of health coverage in one place. It can be difficult for consumers to figure out where to look to find the information they need. Some of the sites display a lot of details, but novices can have a difficult time figuring out which of the material is most meaningful to their plan selection decision. Too much information that isn’t filtered creates the risk that consumer choices will not be as good as they should be
HealthPocket is a commercial company. We built HealthPocket to be on the side of the consumer and create a successful business at the same time. Our commitment is to separate all the information and guidance we present to our users from our sources of revenue.
Our team is made up of healthcare technology and industry-wise experts who have held executive positions in for-profit and nonprofit companies. Our expertise, coupled with the release of data never before available, allows us to help people get quality healthcare and minimize their out-of-pocket costs. Through HealthPocket.com, we offer something different that has the power to change how we buy and use healthcare in the U.S. for the better. Learn more about our Leadership Team.
Additional Information
The cost of dental procedures can be expensive, with some procedures running more than $1,000.Whether you need an annual checkup or a crown, dental insurance provides coverage on preventative and diagnostic dental care.Telemedicine, the remote diagnosis and treatment of health issues, is not as easy a project as industry pundits and entrepreneurs might hope. While online communication options such as video, telephony, and email are accessible by millions, technology remains only a portion of the telemedicine equation and, tragically, not the most important part. The regulatory and reimbursement aspects of telemedicine loom as more significant influences upon telemedicine’s short-term growth potential.
With respect to reimbursement, if the majority of insurers (whether private or governmental) refuse to pay for telemedicine, or pay at unacceptably low rates, then the prospects for telemedicine’s growth will be poor. A decade ago, there was considerable reluctance on the part of insurers toward online medical services. However, more recently major insurers such as United Healthcare, Aetna, and Cigna are exploring telemedicine as a viable healthcare channel that can reduce healthcare costs. With respect to the major government insurance programs, Medicare and Medicaid, the embrace of telemedicine appears uneven. CMS, discussing the matter on behalf of Medicare, stated at the end of 2012 “Medicare pays for a limited number of Part B services that are furnished by a physician or practitioner to an eligible beneficiary via a telecommunications system.” Medicare-approved remote telehealth services must provide real-time interactivity (apparently eliminating email as a technology option).
One wishes the government forced CMS regulators to attend Health Datapalooza in order to accelerate their understanding of the advances that can be made using remote technologies from cell phones to wireless biometric devices. Medicaid, in contrast to Medicare, has stated “Reimbursement for Medicaid covered services, including those with telemedicine applications, must satisfy federal requirements of efficiency, economy and quality of care. States are encouraged to use the flexibility inherent in federal law to create innovative payment methodologies for services that incorporate telemedicine technology.”
The patchwork of state regulations regarding telemedicine continues to inhibit quick growth. Some states, such as Tennessee, have specific telemedicine regulations. Others seek to apply regulations developed for in-person care against telemedicine. One of the biggest issues for states is whether an out-of-state physician must be licensed in-state if telemedicine care is provided to a state resident and, if “yes,” under what circumstances (e.g. non-regular care).
With respect to telemedicine successes, a variety of news outlets reported earlier this year that Virtuwell, an online telemedicine services providing treatment for 40 relatively simple health conditions, saved $88.03 per episode as compared to healthcare delivered in-person at a physian’s office. Other more advanced uses of telemedicine can be seen within healthcare provider facilities. For example, Oregon Health & Science University can provide remote stroke diagnostic consultation by means of a two-way interactive audio/video robot. The combination of cost advantages and treatment improvements in the aforementioned examples will continue to exert pressure on legislatures and insurers to optimize their support of telemedicine services.