DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Take Command Health, a Texas-based company, announces today the release of its enhanced online tool that helps individuals find and enroll in the best health insurance plan for them—just ahead of the 2016 Open Enrollment season which runs from November 1, 2015 through January 31, 2016.
“More than 1.2 million Texans will be shopping for individual health insurance this year,” said CEO Jack Hooper. “Research shows that more than 85 percent of people will make a poor plan choice, costing them more than $530 a year in unnecessary health expenses. That's a $540 million problem and growing for Texas.”
Take Command Health's free step-by-step guide helps individuals compare plans from Healthcare.gov side-by-side with private plans from major companies like Aetna, Blue Cross, United, Humana, and Cigna.
Users answer simple questions about their favorite doctors, prescriptions, and medical needs. Take Command Health compares those results against a database of millions of actual medical claims and thousands of doctors. The tool then recommends a plan that best fits the customer’s needs. Users can also determine if they are eligible for Federal tax credits and can filter out plans based on personal preferences such as “no HMOs” or “HSA compatible plans.”
Hooper, a graduate of Texas A&M University, quickly decided to focus his MBA studies at the Wharton Business School on healthcare cost transparency when he and his wife learned they were pregnant with twins. The lack of comprehensive resources for families and small businesses to gain knowledge about health insurance options led Hooper to co-found Take Command Health.
Hooper and co-founder Matt McPhail, now a PhD student at UC Berkeley, developed a unique algorithm to help people estimate actual out of pocket expenses for things like spraining an ankle, catching a cold, managing diabetes—or even having twins.
“People are either surprised by how many plans are actually available to them or they aren’t sure how to compare different plans against each other,” said Hooper. “Confusing health insurance terms also make the selection process overwhelming. Our goal is to be an advocate for our consumers to help them make the best choice.”
For more information, visit TakeCommandHealth.com.
