Obamacare, private care, single service provider, multiple – no matter what your take is on what health care should look like in the country, the one thing that we all likely agree on is that we could do with a lot less waste and paperwork. FlexMinder hopes to eliminate administrative costs and hassles that add to healthcare woes.
Unhealthy Numbers
The one figure that sticks out in my mind from a six month stint at a public policy center is that one quarter of every dollar spent on health care goes toward administrative costs. When you factor in that health care is a multi-billion dollar, behemoth industry, that’s an enormous expense that has little to do with making any of us healthier and a whole lot to do with why we argue about how to improve our care.
Focusing on Business to Business markets, FlexMinder offers tools that automate parts of the health care processes to save time and money. This Software as a Service company estimates that it can reduce transactional costs for third-party administrators by 50%. In FlexMinder’s crosshairs: an estimated $150-$200 billion in waste attributed to excess paper and administrative costs.
FlexMinder identifies expenses when filing claims, and helps prepare documentation, somewhat like a healthcare version of Turbotax. By automating the reimbursement process and making spending more visible, companies can identify savings opportunities, reduce paperwork, and complete paperwork more efficiently.
Chief Executive Officer Lowell Ricklefs joined the founding team after a decade long losing battle with a family flexible spending account (FSA). Just prior, he helped grow Toluna (online market research), which sold to a private equity firm for $260 million. Will Miceli and Deepak Kumar complete the efficiency-seeking triumvirate. All were drawn toward making medical expenses easier to understand and accounts simpler to manage. FlexMinder is based in Seattle.
Say Again?
If the solutions FlexMinder proposes still sound somewhat confusing (and what part of the industry beside falling ill isn’t perplexing?), you’re not alone. Initially FlexMinder wanted to directly address consumer problems, but slow adaptation led the founders to see the more immediate value of their product in the hands of claim processors. FlexMinder software reduces filing errors and hastens resolution of customer problems. This saves a third party administrator (TPA), which ultimately translates into consumer savings.
FlexMinder offers custom branding to help consumers better understand the value of each TPA offers. The software accounts for different rules and regulations regarding reimbursement, which saves time on data entry and cuts claim handling costs. Whichever direction the health care debate sways after the election this week, let’s hope it continues along FlexMinder’s path of relieving headaches and pocketbooks.
