Podcast Show Notes

Our podcast discussion today between Michael Andrade  and Ralph Weber, CEO of MediBid.  In this podcast we discuss how employers can offer a service that dramatically improves the cost and quality of medical services from MRI, Lab, to surgeries.

What’s the problem?  There’s tremendous variability of cost and quality in the healthcare system.  The problem is the relationship between cost and quality is inverse and most people don’t know how to discern (including doctors).

What does MediBid do? Medibid creates a marketplace for surgery and other procedures using a higher degree of quality discernment and cost as components to put providers in their panel.  It’s all open records so a bidding doctor can see the median and variability based off the median price of the service.   Medibid is able to able to significantly improve quality of the outcomes and cost of services.

Medibid’s average reimbursement is around 108% of Medicare a typical hospital reimbursement allowable is 241% of Medicare?  The average has a huge standard deviation and there are many hospitals that are getting much more than that for no better quality and possibly lower quality.  Unfortunately most insurance carrier networks don’t provide a way to discern quality over cost.  Most consumers can’t quantify the nuances of quality based off the resources they typically have.

Medibid – How it works:

  1. Medibid has a “network” of providers vetted and validated by quality, patient outcomes, and patient satisfaction. Quality – providers are vetted for quality first. Malpractice, rating services, health grades, and put ratings online.  CMS ratings can also be pulled in as well for an additional fee.
  2. Service added as a component of a plan either marketed directly to employees or embedded within a Third Party Administrator service enhancement. (This works better with a TPA and plan language that incentivizes or otherwise shepherds folks to the service with good care management and plan language.)
  3. When a surgery, MRI, or Lab is needed a bid request can be made online or via app. Patient or TPA will securely upload their records and make a request for a bid.
  4. Doctors will review the records as well as the median price for services and make a bid based off the patient records.
  5. Doctors will offer be in a position to offer a second opinion and in many cases surgery can be avoided.
  6. Patient has the service and heals
  7. Substantial savings to the Plan and Plan generally will pay 100% or have a substantial incentive for employees to use the service. There is some flexibility in payment options for a patient share.

Employee/TPA will post the bid including test results, images, etc.  Doctors can then see the severity of the problem and also may offer a second opinion about the treatment and treatment options.

Size of MediBid’s network about 28,000 globally.  Providers like Health City Cayman Islands and other destination health providers are part of the network (future podcast episode).

This is an must listen and please leave your comments and feedback below.

If you’d like to learn how this and other programs can fit into your benefit strategy please feel free to contact me: Michael Andrade (832) 236-8966

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