Savvos Cash Pay Marketplace: Shopping for Affordable Healthcare Simplified
Sedera and Savvos — A better healthcare experience!
Sedera has partnered with the nation’s largest cash pay marketplace to provide our Medical Cost Sharing Members with a simple, comprehensive way to shop for affordable medical care. Savvos is a game changer when it comes to finding providers, reasonable and transparent prices, scheduling procedures, and simplifying payment.
Sedera Members are cash pay patients and Savvos is the largest cash pay marketplace.
Sedera’s medical cost sharing solution provides affordability, price transparency, freedom of choice, and peace of mind when paying for large, unexpected medical costs. The Savvos cash pay marketplace connects people with affordable, high-quality healthcare services without involving third-party payors.
By partnering with Savvos, we have further empowered our Members to find the best providers, at the best value, which saves Members on the cost of care, and helps the Sedera Medical Cost Sharing Community. And, as if that wasn’t enough incentive, cost-conscious Sedera Members who utilize a Savvos provider are eligible for a reduction of their Initial Unshareable Amount (IUA). To get an idea of how large the marketplace is, check out the Savvos provider map which shows providers in all 50 states.
What does “cash pay” patient mean?
Cash pay is also referred to as “self pay.” It simply means that instead of going through a third-party payor) that dictates the cost of your care and your healthcare provider choices, you pay your doctor or other medical professionals directly. The advantages of being a cash pay patient are numerous including knowing the cost of care upfront which eliminates surprise billing and cash pay patients often receive significant discounts. They are also empowered to choose their medical professionals based on the quality of care, value for services rendered, and personal preference.
What does the Savvos Cash Pay Marketplace do?
In a recent webinar with Sedera, Savvos CEO Lou Morin said, “Savvos allows members to compare prices, connect with amazing quality providers all over the country, simplify the process of scheduling care, and engage in affordable solutions. We’re not the solution for primary care but if you’re looking to schedule outpatient surgery, imaging, or diagnostics such as colonoscopies or endoscopies, that’s where Savvos can have a tremendous impact.”
Savvos partners with high-quality healthcare providers across the United States who offer their services at a discounted, cash pay rate. Members can filter their search for providers by location, specialty, and price, and with such a large marketplace, Members are likely to find a great provider in their area. However, if the best value for care requires travel, and it will save the Community money to do so, the Sedera Community may share in the travel expenses for the Member and a companion, and there may be a reduction in their IUA.
Savvos makes it simple for Sedera Members to manage and pay for healthcare.
There are two extraordinary and convenient features of Savvos. One is the ability to create “bundled pricing” which means you pay just once for all your provider services for a procedure. According to Lou Morin, when it comes to bundling, “The possibilities are endless because the Savvos team can navigate each member’s situation uniquely and help identify specific bundles that create the best healthcare opportunity for them.”
The second is “Savvos Connect™” which brings all participants involved in a healthcare decision together. This means that Sedera Members can communicate with Sedera Member Services, their medical professionals, and Savvos all in one message center. This communication “hub” makes it easy to ask questions, finalize pricing, schedule appointments, have sharing for eligible Needs approved, and simplify payment.
How do Sedera Members use Savvos?
We care deeply about the health of our Members and their medical shopping experiences. Thus, Savvos is available to all Sedera Members and, even if a Need is not shareable with the Medical Cost Sharing Community, Members can still use Savvos to find great healthcare, at a great price.
Savvos is not intended to replace Sedera’s Medical Concierge service, which is still the resource for Members to get information about office visits, and smaller diagnostics like X-rays and ultrasounds, and medications. And before undergoing any elective or non-emergent surgery, Members are encouraged to schedule a Second Expert Opinion consult.
The Savvos registration and provider search is simple and convenient.
Members use a Sedera-specific link for Savvos which will take them to a “Register Your Account” page. Any adult Member (18+) can register, and the Primary Member does not have to register before anyone else on the membership can. After registration, Savvos receives the Member’s information which is kept up to date on the platform.
Members have access to a dedicated Sedera and Savvos webpage which is where they can start their provider search. There’s a convenient “search and save” function so Members can jump back in at any time without losing progress. The search function provides returns results for providers who are on the Savvos Marketplace, or there is an option to have Savvos contact a provider the Member is already familiar with, or working with but who is not on the marketplace. Either way, Savvos works to find the right provider solution for the Member. The search also provides good faith estimates, provider ratings, and the opportunity to schedule a consult or a procedure.
Once a provider and procedure are selected, Savvos connects Members, Sedera, and the provider using Savvos Connect™ which allows everyone involved in the healthcare process to communicate conveniently in one place. Here Members can ask questions, share documents, approve the procedure date, confirm the price of the procedure, and authorize funding all of which simplifies their healthcare experience. To see this in action, here is an informative Savvos Member Demo.
An example of a Sedera Member who recently utilized Savvos.
Sometimes, what seems like a discount on healthcare, is actually not a discount. Sedera Members who utilize Savvos for their outpatient surgery, imaging, labs, and more have the best chance of finding the best care, at the best price.
Savvos shared the case of a Sedera Member who recently requested help to schedule a complex ankle surgery. The Member shared a Good Faith Estimate with a staggering price tag of $125,967! That medical provider then offered a 50% discount and agreed to reduce the charge to $62,983.50. At first glance, 50% off seems like a good discount.
When Savvos launched the procedure in the Savvos Portal they immediately connected with a center of excellence and were able to secure a price of approximately $14,000 for the same ankle surgery. The bottom line? When Sedera Members have access to a platform like Savvos and can compare prices and simplify communication with great providers, they can dramatically reduce their costs. In this example alone, the Member’s cost was 77% lower than the “discounted rate” offered by the initial provider.
Why has the demand for cash pay providers increased?
Out-of-pocket expenses continue to rise, and medical debt is now a leading cause of bankruptcy in the U.S. According to a 2022 KFF Health Care Debt Survey in partnership with NPR, the medical debt picture is bleak. There are more than “100 million people in America ― including 41% of adults ― beset by a health care system that is systematically pushing patients into debt on a mass scale.”
It can be argued that the healthcare system is broken, and this has led to an increased interest in innovative and better ways to pay for healthcare. Medical cost sharing is an affordable, non-insurance solution to paying for large, unexpected medical expenses and it is perfectly aligned with the cash pay model where providers and patients are empowered to interact directly on cost, care, and payment.
Another rapidly growing free market model in the cash pay sphere is Direct Primary Care where members pay a flat monthly or annual fee to the provider of their choice for unlimited access to a range of primary medical care services. It’s a cash pay model that eliminates third-party billing and pairs perfectly with medical cost sharing as an affordable solution to pay for medical expenses that exceed primary, routine, and preventive healthcare. Sedera Members can easily locate Direct Primary Care practices using our DPC Finder.
Sedera Founder and CEO Dr. Tony Dale recently said in a Point Health Podcast, “Under the surface, and increasingly above the radar screen where people can see it, there are fascinating examples of the power of the free market that are emerging across the spectrum of medical care.” And, according to Lou Morin, CEO of Savvos, “The healthcare experience of tomorrow cannot be built on tools from yesterday.”
Sedera Medical Cost Sharing Members have a non-insurance solution that provides affordability, price transparency, freedom of choice, and peace of mind when paying for healthcare. Now, they also have access to Savvos, the nation’s largest cash pay marketplace to help them find the best care, at the best price, plus the convenience of Savvos Connect™, an extraordinary communication tool that simplifies the healthcare experience.
Learn more about Affordable Healthcare With Medical Cost Sharing.
