MDsave is a healthcare ecommerce company co-located in Grover, Delaware, and San Francisco, California.

The company officially launched in 2013.[1] MDSave connects uninsured patients, health savings account holders, and high deductible health insurance patients with medical providers who offer pre-negotiated savings on medical services.[2]

History

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MDsave was founded in 2011 in Brentwood, Tennessee[2] by Paul Ketchel, the current CEO.[3][4] Paul Ketchel was formerly chief operating officer of Diagnostics Network Alliance and a director for American Capitol Group.[3]

MDsave officially launched in 2013.[1][5] They had raised more than $14 million from investors and earned $5 million in 2015, with investors including MTS Health Partners.[6] By 2015, it was in place in 24 states.[1] Through the company's website, patients can compare local prices for different medical procedures; choose the price and provider that work best for them; and pre-purchase a voucher that covers all expenses.[7]

In August 2016, MDsave secured a $5 million investment from Cambia Health Solutions[8] and was doing around 2,000 transactions per month.[9]

In June 2018, MDsave began working with St. Cloud Regional Medical Center.[10] At the end of 2018, MDsave had expanded to a network of more than 200 hospitals across 29 states.[11]

In May 2019, Gwinnett Medical Center became the first Atlanta-area hospital to partner with MDsave.[12]

In March 2020, MDsave announced the appointment of Greg Born, a former global strategy leader for Amazon, as the new company president and COO.[13]

In September 2023, MDsave was acquired by Tendo for $150 million.[14]

Business model and services

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MDsave offers medical providers a way to package their services into a single bundled procedure online,[6] and offers consumers paying out of pocket a way to comparison shop different providers.[1] It is the world's first transactional healthcare marketplace.[3]

A patient searches for a treatment or procedure in a location, and MDsave returns a list of providers in that area with price, location and doctor's ratings. A patient purchases the bundled procedure, which includes all associated fees and services, using PayPal, a credit card or a financing plan online. The patient receives a voucher to present to the doctor's office at their first appointment. The providers get paid within four days, versus the average 60–90 days through insurance.[1]

MDsave uses a patented technology[15][16] that cross-references Medicare billing codes, procedural codes, and diagnosis codes to create an upfront price for the bundled services involved in a single treatment or procedure.[6]

Healthcare cost & access

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Through the MDsave marketplace, patients have access to a wide variety of medical procedures at up-front prices, along with simplified billing and educational resources.[17] The prices posted on the site are pre-negotiated with individual doctors or hospitals, and include all costs associated with the procedure, including physician billing; patients do not receive another bill.[18][10]

In November 2018, MDsave partnered with CareCredit, a health, wellness and personal care credit card offered by Synchrony Bank, to offer promotional financing for patients.[19]

Automated episodic care bundling

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MDsave works with providers to bundle complex medical procedures into a single upfront payment, which provides consumers with discounted out-of-pocket healthcare bills.[20]

MDsave Plus

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MDsave Plus is geared toward employers as a supplement to employee health benefits. MDsave negotiates prices with providers and then passes the savings along to employees, who can save up to 60% on their medical costs.[6]

Providers

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MDsave works with hospital groups and ambulatory surgical centers. In 2016 it had a presence in 24 states and 120 markets, and was growing at a rate of 20% month over month.[6] Providers in 2015 included Dignity Health, Catholic Health Initiatives, Community Health Systems, Tenet Healthcare and others.[1]

Board of directors

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Board members include former Senate Majority Leader Dr. Bill Frist.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Reilly, Dan (2015-09-28). "How this U.S. startup plans to save lives, lower medical bills". Fortune. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
  2. ^ a b "MDSave Incorporated: Private Company Information - Businessweek". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
  3. ^ a b c Ketchel, Paul (11 March 2016). "A patient's guide to high-deductible health care plans". www.nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
  4. ^ Cable, Kevin. "The Transition From Sick Care To Well Care And The Rise Of The Patient-Consumer". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
  5. ^ "MDsave, Ascension Via Christi partner to offer discounted procedures". Via Christi Health. Archived from the original on June 27, 2019. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Kutscher, Beth (2 April 2016). "Building bundles for self-pay patients". www.modernhealthcare.com. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
  7. ^ "MDsave could lower your out-of-pocket healthcare costs | CareCredit". www.carecredit.com. Archived from the original on June 27, 2019. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
  8. ^ Comstock, Jonah (2016-08-11). "Cambia invests $5M in price transparency company MDSave". MobiHealthNews. Retrieved 2017-10-05.
  9. ^ Fletcher, Holly. "MDsave puts set price on procedures in your pocket". The Tennessean.
  10. ^ a b Miller, Naseem S. (29 June 2018). "St. Cloud Regional partners with MDsave to bring price transparency". orlandosentinel.com.
  11. ^ Anderson, Julie (26 December 2018). "Expedia for health care? CHI Health lets patients buy vouchers for discounted medical procedures". Omaha.com. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  12. ^ Hughes, Isabel (3 May 2019). "Gwinnett Medical Center partners with MDsave to help patients save money". Gwinnett Daily Post. Retrieved 2019-06-14.
  13. ^ Embry, Robin (2 March 2020). "MDsave Appoints Former Amazon Leader as Company President and COO". BioSpace. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  14. ^ "Tendo to Acquire MDsave, Creating Leading Platform for Patient Engagement and Shoppable Care". Benzinga. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  15. ^ Ketchel, I. I. I. (September 1, 2015), United States Patent: 9123072 - Network-based marketplace service for facilitating purchases of services and products, retrieved 2016-08-10
  16. ^ III, Paul John Ketchel (Sep 1, 2015), Network-based marketplace service for facilitating purchases of services and products, retrieved 2016-08-10
  17. ^ De Lomaerde, Geert (3 January 2019). "Change Healthcare takes MDSave stake: Companies plan to add payment options". Nashville Post. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  18. ^ "MDsave and St. Cloud Regional Medical Center Help Patients Save Money, Access Needed Care | Newsroom". www.stcloudregional.com. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
  19. ^ Staff (2018-11-16). "CareCredit & MDsave launch strategic partnership helping improve access to healthcare". www.beckershospitalreview.com. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  20. ^ Kelly, Kerry (7 January 2019). "Change Healthcare Makes Strategic Investment in MDsave". Businesswire. Retrieved 2019-07-29.
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