GoodRx for Healthcare?

This helped a lot with Maddie’s meds, and we’ve since used it for our own. It’s easy and efficient, and even better, it’s free.

Well, seems like the basic idea is really taking off:

“Discount medical shopping site launches in Kansas City … has gone live with the test version of sesamecare.com.”

We’ve seen this model before, of course:

“Must See TV featured an interview with Dr. Keith Smith where he outlined the unique practice at the Surgery Center of Oklahoma.The hospital operates on a cash only basis.”

The Sesamecare site takes the reduced-fee, cash only model and expands it to include primary care and dental visits, eye exams and MRIs, and other services. According to the site, over 100 providers offer over 600 services, from OB-GYN to dermatology, even cardiology services. Pretty expansive.

And of course, since patients know the price of services upfront, and there’s no insurance involved, there’s no worry about what they will ultimately cost.

Unlike Direct Primary Care or sharing ministries, these services will generally be HSA-eligible, which also helps to offset the fact that there’s not going to be much (if any) insurance reimbursement (depending on whether your plan is a PPO or an HMO).

So far, the service is available only in Kansas City [ed: I've heard that everything's up to date there], but perhaps we’ll eventually see it rolled out in other markets.

Kudos!

[Hat Tip: Dr Gina Reghetti]