HealthLynked Corp.
Releases
"Cost Lynk"
A
National
Healthcare Pricing Transparency
Tool
for
Patients
Naples,
FL -- January 28, 2020 -- InvestorsHub NewsWire
-- HealthLynked
Corp. (OTCQB:
HLYK),
a
nationwide
healthcare network
focused on care management of its members and a provider of
healthcare technologies
that
connect doctors, patients and medical data,
today
announced that it
has
released
its
national
healthcare pricing
tool, "Cost
Lynk".
The
Cost
Lynk allows patients to
compare pricing of healthcare services from their local
market
to
other locations across the nation. The Pricing tool provides
national averages for hospital procedures as well as doctor
visits. The Cost
Lynk tool
can be
accessed on the
HealthLynked website at:
https://www.healthlynked.com/estimator/
Healthcare
pricing has long been a problem for patients who are not provided
pricing for expensive procedures
from
hospitals and are often left with sticker shock weeks later when
faced
with
large medical bills. Hospitals have been resistant to
provide
pricing
for medical procedures, but recent legislation has
required
this
information to become available to patients.
Healthcare
price transparency goes well
beyond
meeting federal compliance rules, it's about giving patients what
they really want—accurate out-of-pocket costs. By providing
accurate estimates prior to service,
our
healthcare cost transparency solution allows
patients
to self-estimate their out-of-pocket costs.
The
Cost Lynk
pricing tool offers:
-
National
average costs
for
procedures
-
Local
average
costs
for
procedures
-
Average
costs
by
hospital
for comparison
-
Commonly
grouped
procedures
-
What
to expect from procedures
-
How
to prepare for the procedures
-
Questions
to ask your healthcare provider regarding
specific
procedures
More
than most
other
industries,
healthcare
is known for its lack
of price transparency. While patients generally know how much their
co-pays
are, they are poorly
informed about what their final bill might be. Few hospitals and
practices publish their costs
for
services prior to those services being provided. This puts
consumers at a serious disadvantage since they are not provided an
option to shop around.
In
recent legislation,
the
State of Florida passed a
bill that will require licensed healthcare facilities to not only
provide a "good faith estimate of anticipated charges" but also to
make available on
their website pricing data or tools that will
allow
policy holders
to
make
estimates of costs
and
charges. The federal
government is confident that the new requirements
will
increase
competition in the healthcare industry, reduce prices and support
greater innovation throughout the healthcare sector.
In
November 2019,
Alex
Azar, the
HHS
Secretary said,
"President Trump
has promised American patients' A+ healthcare transparency, but
right now our system probably deserves an F on transparency.
President Trump is going to change that, with what will be
revolutionary changes for our healthcare system.
Today's
transparency announcement may be a more significant change to
American healthcare markets than any other single thing we've done,
by shining light on the costs of our shadowy system and finally
putting the American patient in control."
The
final rule on healthcare transparency is expected to go into effect
on January 1,
2021.
Under
the hospital price transparency rule, hospitals must publish their
standard charges online in a machine-readable format. They will
need to create at least 300 "shoppable" services, including 70
selected by the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services, known as CMS.
Dr.
Michael Dent CEO of
HealthLynked stated
"It
is more
important than ever for patients to know exactly what they are
paying for healthcare services as costs
continue to
rise.
HealthLynked
is one of the first
companies to provide a national pricing tool for healthcare
procedures.
Currently,
we have
more hospital pricing data for our Florida members, but as other
states pass legislation that make pricing
information available, we will
continue to
update and expand
our
data."
"I
am confident the Cost Lynk tool
will empower
our
members with the
ability
to determine pricing for routine procedures and allow them to
decide which facility and provider is
the
best
fit for their needs"
concluded Dr. Dent
About
HealthLynked Corp.
HealthLynked Corp.
provides a solution for both patient members and providers to
improve healthcare through the efficient exchange of medical
information. The HealthLynked Network is a cloud-based platform
that allows members to connect with their healthcare providers and
take more control of their healthcare. Members enter their medical
information, including medications, allergies, past surgeries and
personal health records, in one convenient online and secure
location, free of charge. Participating healthcare providers can
connect with their current and future patients through the system.
Benefits to in-network providers include the ability to utilize the
HealthLynked patent pending patient access hub "PAH" for patient
analytics. Other benefits for preferred providers include HLYK
marketing tools to connect with their active and inactive patients
to improve patient retention, access more accurate and current
patient information, provide more efficient online scheduling and
to fill last minute cancelations using our "real time appointment
scheduling" all within our mobile application. Preferred providers
pay a monthly fee to access these HealthLynked services. For
additional information about HealthLynked Corp.
visit www.healthlynked.com and connect with HealthLynked on
Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Forward
Looking Statements
Forward-Looking Statements in this press release, which are not
historical facts, are forward-looking statements within the meaning
of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Our actual
results, including as a result of any acquisitions, performance or
achievements may differ materially from those expressed or implied
by these forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can
identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as
"may," "could," "expect," "intend," "plan," "seek," "anticipate,"
"believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue,"
"likely," "will," "would" and variations of these terms and similar
expressions, or the negative of these terms or similar expressions.
Such forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon
estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by our
management, and us are inherently uncertain. We caution you not to
place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which are
made as of the date of this press release. We undertake no
obligation to update publicly any of these forward-looking
statements to reflect actual results, new information or future
events, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors
affecting forward looking statements, except to the extent required
by applicable laws. If we update one or more forward-looking
statements, no inference should be drawn that we will make
additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking
statements. Certain risks and uncertainties applicable to our
operations and us are described in the "Risk Factors" section of
our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and in other filings we
have made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These
reports are available at www.sec.gov.
Contacts:
George
O'Leary
Chief
Financial Officer
goleary@healthlynked.com
(800)
928-7144, ext. 99
Investor
Relations Contacts:
Stephanie
Prince
PCG
Advisory Group
sprince@pcgadvisory.com
646-762-4518
Jim
Hock
Hanover International Inc.
jh@hanoverintlinc.com
760-564-7400