Health in Your Hands
Dallas startup empowers you to take command of your health insurance
The mere thought of navigating insurance plans during open enrollment makes us groan. That’s why we’re excited about Dallas’ own Take Command Health, a service that makes navigating insurance plans a breeze. And with open enrollment ending December 15, the timing couldn’t be better.
Take Command Health follows a model like that of TurboTax. It takes a complex task and breaks it down into one question per page. With each answer, the system narrows your search for plans you’ll actually use, saving you money along the way.
The goal? To move the process away from picking a plan based on a laundry list of numbers and instead help you select a plan that will give you the most benefit, based on your needs.
It’s estimated that 88 percent of Americans waste money by choosing the wrong health insurance plan, costing an average of $533 a year. Sites like healthcare.gov and individual brokers don’t give you all the options — on-exchange, private, and faith-based plans — and few resources exist to give people realistic estimates of how much care will cost.
One of Take Command Health’s many features is a health condition simulator which helps you get a feel for how much a condition, like asthma, or a big life event, like a new child, will cost you.
“We want to empower informed consumers so they can get the best value out of their insurance plan, without breaking the bank,” says CEO Jack Hooper.
Premier memberships start at $12 and include a telemedicine feature that puts you in touch with a doctor via the phone when you need it. Other features, like medical bill negotiation to dispute incorrect medical bills, and dental and vision discounts, help with your bottom line. There’s no question about your co-pay or co-insurance either: Advice and support are available when you need it.
Hooper notes Dallasites’ excitement over the options Take Command Health offers; the startup raised $1 million from Dallas sources alone in its earliest iteration.
“It was so fun to see Dallas pitch in and help. It says a lot about the city and our people.”
