MDSave

Market position

Described as the world's first transactional healthcare marketplace, MDsave operates in the healthcare price-transparency and shoppable-care segment, working with hospital groups and ambulatory surgical centers. Providers cited in 2015 included Dignity Health, Catholic Health Initiatives, Community Health Systems and Tenet Healthcare.

MDsave positions itself as a transactional healthcare marketplace rather than a price-lookup tool: prices are pre-negotiated with individual doctors or hospitals, are all-inclusive of associated costs such as physician billing so patients receive no further bill, and are transacted through a pre-paid voucher. Patented code-mapping technology automates the creation of bundled prices, and providers receive payment within roughly four days instead of the 60-90 days typical of insurance claims.

Technology

The platform uses patented technology (U.S. Patent 9,123,072, "Network-based marketplace service for facilitating purchases of services and products," issued September 1, 2015 to Paul John Ketchel III) that cross-references Medicare billing codes, procedural codes and diagnosis codes to generate a single upfront price for the bundled services in a treatment or procedure. Consumer-facing features include procedure and location search, provider price and rating comparison, voucher purchase via PayPal, credit card or financing, and educational billing resources. As part of Tendo, the offering is described as a configurable, scalable platform with patient- and provider-facing applications plus software and analytics.

Go-to-market

Growth has come through partnerships with individual hospitals and health systems that agree to pre-negotiated bundled prices, expanding the marketplace market by market and state by state, alongside a direct-to-consumer website and an employer channel (MDsave Plus). A November 2018 partnership with CareCredit, a Synchrony Bank health and wellness credit card, added promotional financing at the point of purchase.

Uninsured patients, health savings account holders and patients with high-deductible health plans who pay out of pocket; self-funded employers seeking to supplement employee health benefits; and the hospitals, hospital groups and ambulatory surgical centers that list bundled procedures.

Geography

Founded and headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee, with the company also described as co-located in Delaware and San Francisco, California, and a listed address in Dover, Delaware. Operations are nationwide across the United States, covering 24 states in 2015-2016 and 29 states by the end of 2018.

History

MDsave was founded in 2011 in Brentwood, Tennessee by Paul Ketchel and officially launched its marketplace in 2013 (one source dates establishment to 2012). By 2015 it had raised more than $14 million from investors including MTS Health Partners and operated in 24 states. In August 2016 it secured a $5 million investment from Cambia Health Solutions. Provider expansion continued with St. Cloud Regional Medical Center in June 2018 and Gwinnett Medical Center, the first Atlanta-area hospital partner, in May 2019, and a CareCredit financing partnership in November 2018. In March 2020 the company appointed former Amazon global strategy leader Greg Born as president and COO. In September 2023 MDsave was acquired by Tendo, reported at $150 million, with the transaction completed on September 27, 2023.

Risks & controversies

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