Health IT, Payers, Startups

A health insurance navigator for consumers, Wellthie wants to boost insurance literacy

The enrollment deadline for Obamacare may have come and gone, but for anyone who loses […]

The enrollment deadline for Obamacare may have come and gone, but for anyone who loses a job, has a reduction in salary, gets married or divorced, these life changing events generate a need for a change in insurance.  Healthcare industry veteran Sally Poblete who founded Wellthie, wants to help consumers and employees navigate the complexities of getting health insurance or changing plans.

The StartUp Health company’s first product Affordable Care Advisor is all about explaining terminology and eliminating the mysteries of using health insurance. It went live in the fall last year.

“I think the inspiration for me to leave [WellPoint after eight years]  is that consumers in general are utterly confused about which health insurance to buy. They don’t know how to find a doctor. They don’t understand deductibles, the difference between in network and out of network and they don’t know how to access their medical benefits.”

The company licenses its product marketing software to insurance companies which is designed to highlight insurers’ plans and help them better understand the costs by giving estimates on users’ premium costs.

It also wants to roll out a platform for business owners to help them make decisions about employee coverage, such as whether to offer an employer plan or individual plans that employers help fund.

There are no shortage of startups that have seen the rollout of Obamacare as a great opportunity for insurance education and planning tools to supplement what state health insurance exchanges have offered. Bloom Health and Change Healthcare have focused their attention on employer plans. Stride Health, although restricted to California, is a consumer-focused website which offers estimates.

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