ADVERTISEMENT
  • About
  • Contact
  • Testimonials
  • Demographics & Advertising Rates
Sunday, January 24, 2021
Search
    Generic filters
    California Business Journal
    56 °f
    Los Angeles
    50 ° Mon
    49 ° Tue
    53 ° Wed
    55 ° Thu
    53 ° Fri
    53 ° Sat
    • Front Page
    • Business
      • Insurance
      • Real Estate
    • Finance
      claiming gambling losses on your taxes

      Can you claim gambling losses on your taxes?

      Nicholas Yrizarry

      In Perfect Alignment

      Invest-in-Your-Childs-Future

      Start Investing Now For Your Child’s Future

      IMG 8554 - From a “Wish List” to a “Reality List”

      From a “Wish List” to a “Reality List”

    • People
    • Featured
      law swirl stairs

      Down and Dirty

      284 RUdQVDAwNTEuanBn

      The Rising Phenomena of Solar Energy Hits A New Gear in California

      Silicon V Real Instituto

      The Entrepreneurs ‘Angell’

      West Gary, MinTech’s Chief Technical Officer2

      Dust Buster

      Flags-of-the-world

      The Impact of Covid: Racing to Buy Second Citizenships

    • Technology
      West Gary, MinTech’s Chief Technical Officer2

      Dust Buster

      electric vehicle charging station 2

      The Electrification of Transportation

      Plaxonic Technologies Innovate

      Plaxonic Technologies: Leading Innovation

      tech devises of the future - Latest Devices to Make Our Lives Easier

      Latest Devices to Make Our Lives Easier

    • Law
      law books

      Career paths available with a law degree

      background-check

      How Do Background Check Sites Find Your Information?

      hurricane

      Weathering the Storm

      tower-bridge-london-england

      How to apply from the USA to one of the most famous law universities in the UK

    • News
      Reborn Cabinets, Anaheim, Calif.

      BBB Torch Awards Recognize Orange County Businesses

      AB3088

      California COVID-19 Rent Relief Policies Economically Unsustainable

      american-flag

      Dreamers Won Full Restoration of DACA…What Now?

      Airplane Landing

      London Heathrow one step closer to controversial third runway

    • Human Interest
      • Food
      • Art & Culture
    • Education
      How to Prepare for a Mountain Trip (2)

      How to Prepare for a Mountain Trip

      law swirl stairs

      Down and Dirty

      Benjy Grinberg

      Philanthropy Corner: 7 California Businesses That Care About Education By Supporting It With Millions of Dollars

      california-consumer-privacy-act

      How CCPA Has Impacted Businesses

    • Health & Fitness
      The Surprising Link Between Gut Health and Mental Health - The Surprising Link between Gut Health and Mental Health

      The Surprising Link between Gut Health and Mental Health

      Eesha Patel feature

      Multi-Dimensional Reality

      166521182

      One Hour Each Morning for the Remaining 23

      87 CBN vs CBD How Are the Benefits Different - Commonly Asked Questions About CBD Oil in the USA

      Commonly Asked Questions About CBD Oil in the USA

    California Business Journal
    • Front Page
    • Business
      • Insurance
      • Real Estate
    • Finance
      claiming gambling losses on your taxes

      Can you claim gambling losses on your taxes?

      Nicholas Yrizarry

      In Perfect Alignment

      Invest-in-Your-Childs-Future

      Start Investing Now For Your Child’s Future

      IMG 8554 - From a “Wish List” to a “Reality List”

      From a “Wish List” to a “Reality List”

    • People
    • Featured
      law swirl stairs

      Down and Dirty

      284 RUdQVDAwNTEuanBn

      The Rising Phenomena of Solar Energy Hits A New Gear in California

      Silicon V Real Instituto

      The Entrepreneurs ‘Angell’

      West Gary, MinTech’s Chief Technical Officer2

      Dust Buster

      Flags-of-the-world

      The Impact of Covid: Racing to Buy Second Citizenships

    • Technology
      West Gary, MinTech’s Chief Technical Officer2

      Dust Buster

      electric vehicle charging station 2

      The Electrification of Transportation

      Plaxonic Technologies Innovate

      Plaxonic Technologies: Leading Innovation

      tech devises of the future - Latest Devices to Make Our Lives Easier

      Latest Devices to Make Our Lives Easier

    • Law
      law books

      Career paths available with a law degree

      background-check

      How Do Background Check Sites Find Your Information?

      hurricane

      Weathering the Storm

      tower-bridge-london-england

      How to apply from the USA to one of the most famous law universities in the UK

    • News
      Reborn Cabinets, Anaheim, Calif.

      BBB Torch Awards Recognize Orange County Businesses

      AB3088

      California COVID-19 Rent Relief Policies Economically Unsustainable

      american-flag

      Dreamers Won Full Restoration of DACA…What Now?

      Airplane Landing

      London Heathrow one step closer to controversial third runway

    • Human Interest
      • Food
      • Art & Culture
    • Education
      How to Prepare for a Mountain Trip (2)

      How to Prepare for a Mountain Trip

      law swirl stairs

      Down and Dirty

      Benjy Grinberg

      Philanthropy Corner: 7 California Businesses That Care About Education By Supporting It With Millions of Dollars

      california-consumer-privacy-act

      How CCPA Has Impacted Businesses

    • Health & Fitness
      The Surprising Link Between Gut Health and Mental Health - The Surprising Link between Gut Health and Mental Health

      The Surprising Link between Gut Health and Mental Health

      Eesha Patel feature

      Multi-Dimensional Reality

      166521182

      One Hour Each Morning for the Remaining 23

      87 CBN vs CBD How Are the Benefits Different - Commonly Asked Questions About CBD Oil in the USA

      Commonly Asked Questions About CBD Oil in the USA

    Search
      Generic filters
      California Business Journal

      ‘IT’S ALL SECRET … UNTIL YOU GET THE BILL’

      How Medifees and its subsidiary MediSkore are poised to bring transparency to healthcare.

      by Susan Belknapp, Senior Writer, California Business Journal
      A A
      download 2 1 - ‘IT'S ALL SECRET … UNTIL YOU GET THE BILL’
      Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

      By Susan Belknapp, California Business Journal

      Can you imagine ever purchasing a car, home, or even a coffee maker without having a clue what it costs? Most consumers would never dream of making a major purchase without having some insight into price. Usually, the price is one of the first things a shopper sees and it wouldn’t occur to most people to commit to buying anything without having at least a ballpark idea of what they’re spending.

      Once we are aware of the basics, we can make informed decisions, factoring in our personal priorities for luxury or economy and how much we are willing to spend on higher-end variables. There is one industry, however, that is one of the costliest for individuals and the United States economy and we not only have no choice on what we spend, the cost is deliberately kept from us. That industry is healthcare.

      All under wraps

      “There is zero price transparency in healthcare,” says Dr. Gail Tasch, co-founder of Medifees.com (MediVerity Inc), a web site she created with healthcare tech innovator Hugo Gallegos for price and quality comparisons on medical procedures and treatments. “If you call a clinic or hospital and ask, ‘I want to have this procedure, can you tell me about how much it will cost?’ They won’t tell you. But you’ll get the bill. I’m a physician and cannot find out the room rate for a night in my own hospital and I work here.”

      After a few different personal experiences with urgent care and her daughter needing regular labs, Tasch decided she wanted to comparison shop for basic services and realized she couldn’t. Medicare and Medicaid give ranges for services covered but it can vary dramatically by region and it’s difficult for consumers to access or understand the information.

      “As a physician, I think it’s very important for people to know what they’re committing to pay,” she says. “If you’re buying anything, whether it’s a shirt or shoes or a new car or appliance, you start shopping to find out what people are charging and then you make your decision. With healthcare, you can’t do that. Some cosmetic surgery or elective procedures will tell you how much they’re charging but not many. I’ve gone to one urgent care facility and paid $75 and gone to another and paid $900 — for the same issue.”

      “It’s all secret,” she says. “Until you get the bill.”

      Dr. Gail Tasch, co-founder of Medifees.com (MediVerity Inc)
      Dr. Gail Tasch, co-founder of Medifees.com (MediVerity Inc)

      A niche is discovered

      Once Tasch recognized the need, she called Gallegos, who had gone through similar experiences and he immediately recognized the need too. Together, they began the long process of attempting to determine not only how the system worked but downloading a free Medicare data set to be able to create a user-friendly way to access and understand it.

      Related

      How to Prepare for a Mountain Trip (2)

      How to Prepare for a Mountain Trip

      January 24, 2021
      law swirl stairs

      Down and Dirty

      January 21, 2021
      Load More

      They began researching the history of healthcare pricing and how it’s been monitored and divulged to consumers. Gallegos began designing the algorithms while they sought to purchase the data, another elusive step.

      “There are other services available out there but they don’t have the critical data,” Gallegos says. “You can put in your zip code and it will give you a price quote but it doesn’t help you. There needs to be a site where you can say, ‘I need to go to a doctor visit for shingles.’ One might charge $125 for a 15-minute visit and one might charge $350 for the same. Deductibles are going up. They used to be $250, $500 and $1,000 but now they are $5,000 and even $6,000. Those fees are coming out of pocket until the deductible is met. Knowing the price is a big deal to people with high deductibles.”

      ADVERTISEMENT

      Insurance adds to issue

      One might think the insurance companies covering the procedures would provide checks and balances on the system but that isn’t the case at all. Tasch cites a New York Times article she found early in their research about secret deals that exist between health plans and hospitals and these deals are again, part of the problem. Insurance companies have different deals in different markets.

      “Our goal is to have the ‘rack rate,’ the base rate they charge, private insurance charges, and what Medicare/Medicaid would pay,” Tasch says. “There are so many different fees for each situation. Medicare/Medicaid are published now but it is difficult to find exactly what you need, there are so many ways hospitals get around the low reimbursement.”

      Tasch and Gallegos say that price transparency alone doesn’t mean much without an objective method for tracking quality. To this end, they acquired MediSkore.com, which is a physician-referral platform powered by a patent-pending scoring metric algorithm system that scores practitioners.

      MediSkore is not just another arbitrary Google or Yelp feedback rating, but more of a FICO for practitioners. Doctors are scored from the moment they get their medical degree.

      “Doctors are scored on a wide variety of factors, including training, education, publication, malpractice judgments,” Gallegos says. “Every one of these fields are given a negative or positive. Though we compare it to a FICO, it’s much more complex, but highly advanced system for compiling data on practitioners that begins as soon as they graduate medical school.”

      Other physicians can refer based on the score so it will be used as a physician referral network. If a GP needs to refer a patient to an orthopedic surgeon, for example, that specialization can vary widely because there are so many procedures an orthopedic surgeon might perform. If they need one who ranks high for hand surgery, for instance, they can find one immediately.

      Healthcare tech innovator Hugo Gallegos
      Healthcare tech innovator Hugo Gallegos

      Next steps

      The priority to getting to the next stages is purchasing the data. Tasch and Gallegos have a crowdfunding campaign scheduled to be launched in the fourth quarter of 2018. They intend to scale from Medifees’ minimal valuable product (MVP) using Medicare data to developing a healthcare price- and quality-transparency tool box by aggregating payer claims data and implementing our proprietary scoring metric technology — unless acquired A-round financing is required in the foreseeable future.

      One of the great values that these initial steps are likely to drive is the snowball effect toward industry-wide transparency. Once the veil is lifted from one segment, others will be pressured to do same in order to compete. Like the technological evolution that healthcare was slow to adapt to but has now finally embraced, price transparency will come with pioneers like Tasch and Gallegos at the forefront of this movement.

      Copyright © 2018 California Business Journal. All Rights Reserved.

      s1 5 - ‘IT'S ALL SECRET … UNTIL YOU GET THE BILL’

      s2 5 - ‘IT'S ALL SECRET … UNTIL YOU GET THE BILL’

      Tags: 2018AdvancedCaliforniaCalifornia mediaconsumerscosmeticcrowdfundingdoctorsDr. Gail Tascheconomyeducationfinancinghealthhealthcarehealthcare pricingHugo Gallegosinformationinsuranceinsurance companiesluxurymedicalMedical SchoolMedifeesMediSkoreNew Yorktechnologytrainingtransparency

      Get real time update about this post categories directly on your device, subscribe now.

      Unsubscribe
      ADVERTISEMENT
      Previous Post

      TENACITY AND COMMITMENT

      Next Post

      ‘OLD SCHOOL, HIGH TOUCH’

      Susan Belknapp, Senior Writer, California Business Journal

      Susan Belknapp, Senior Writer, California Business Journal

      Susan Belknapp is a Writer, Editor and Corporate Communications expert with 15 years of professional writing experience across a wide variety of disciplines, including monthly print and digital magazines, social media, marketing and brand development. A graduate of University of Southern California with a degree in Fine Arts and Filmic Writing, Susan was Editor of OC Metro Magazine, which became part of the Orange County Register. Susan is also the Founder of Chonubusu Toffee, an online/direct-sale English toffee company specializing in custom orders, events, personalized labeling and dangerously delicious product prepared with the finest ingredients.

      WHAT TO READ NEXT

      law swirl stairs
      Editor's Choice

      Down and Dirty

      January 21, 2021
      Benjy Grinberg
      Education

      Philanthropy Corner: 7 California Businesses That Care About Education By Supporting It With Millions of Dollars

      January 20, 2021
      mind-consciouness-neuroscience
      Featured

      Empathy in AI

      January 19, 2021
      boxing-gloves
      Human Interest

      Mystical Phenomena

      January 19, 2021
      284 RUdQVDAwNTEuanBn
      Featured

      The Rising Phenomena of Solar Energy Hits A New Gear in California

      January 19, 2021
      OIP 2 - Silicon Valley's Celltrio is utilizing the design theory popularized in LEGO building sets to automate lab processes for harvesting cultured cells.
      Featured

      Silicon Valley’s Celltrio is utilizing the design theory popularized in LEGO building sets to automate lab processes for harvesting cultured cells.

      January 19, 2021
      Next Post
      images 1 - 'OLD SCHOOL, HIGH TOUCH'

      'OLD SCHOOL, HIGH TOUCH'

      Follow Us

      ADVERTISEMENT

      Categories

      • Art & Culture
      • Business
      • Editor's Choice
      • Education
      • Featured
      • Finance
      • Food & Dining
      • Health & Fitness
      • Human Interest
      • Insurance
      • Law
      • Marketing
      • Medical
      • News
      • People
      • Popular
      • Real Estate
      • Social Media
      • Technology
      • Uncategorized

      CBJ Partner Firebrand Media

      Laguna Beach Independent Newspaper

      Laguna Beach Magazine

      Laguna Beach City Guide

      On The Menu Laguna Beach

      Newport Beach Independent Newspaper

      Newport Beach Magazine

      Newport Beach Country Club Magazine

      Coastal Real Estate Guide (NB,LB, CDM)

      Montage Magazine

      Monarch Beach Resort Magazine

      Pacific Coast Magazine (SoCal)

      Omni Escapes Hotel Magazine

      Sea Island Life Magazine

      Salamander Hotel & Resorts Magazine

      Bespoke Concierge New York

      Evans Hotels

      View our entire portfolio here

      ADVERTISEMENT
      ADVERTISEMENT
      Facebook Twitter LinkedIn LinkedIn Instagram
      C B J   LOGO  SVG-01
      • About
      • Contact
      • Testimonials
      • Demographics & Advertising Rates

      Newsletter

      Top Stories

      • Judge gavel, scales of justice and law books in court

        Lawsuit Basics: How Much Does It Cost to Sue Someone?

        0 shares
        Share 0 Tweet 0
      • REPORT: TECH GIANT CISCO ABOUT TO LAY OFF 14,000

        0 shares
        Share 0 Tweet 0
      • The DealMaker

        0 shares
        Share 0 Tweet 0

      Latest Articles

      How to Prepare for a Mountain Trip (2)

      How to Prepare for a Mountain Trip

      January 24, 2021
      law swirl stairs

      Down and Dirty

      January 21, 2021
      human-resources-concept

      Commentary: The Intersection of HR and Tech to Create Better Workplaces

      January 20, 2021

      California Business Journal | California Business News, California News Media, California business articles | Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego, Inland Empire, Northern California, San Francisco | Huntington Beach CA 92649 | (949) 648-3815
      ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY CALIFORNIA BUSINESS JOURNAL.
      Site Design by 1REALTOUR

      Search
        Generic filters
        • Front Page
        • Business
          • Insurance
          • Real Estate
        • Finance
        • People
        • Featured
        • Technology
        • Law
        • News
        • Human Interest
          • Food
          • Art & Culture
        • Education
        • Health & Fitness

        California Business Journal | California Business News, California News Media, California business articles | Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego, Inland Empire, Northern California, San Francisco | Huntington Beach CA 92649 | (949) 648-3815
        ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY CALIFORNIA BUSINESS JOURNAL.
        Site Design by 1REALTOUR

        Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!