Ask HN: What business would you start in 2018?
In the US, I will start a company that would partner with Doctors&#x2F;Clinics&#x2F;Hospitals where they would agree to transparent pricing for simple and routine services (like wellness checkup, simple procedure etc.). In return, the consumers will purchase a service from us (sort of insurance but I hate that word) for a much lower premium&#x2F;fee per year (say something like 500 a year) where they pay the routine services out of pocket but we cover them for major procedures or catastrophic stuff (like cancer treatment). Each Participating doctor&#x2F;clinic&#x2F;hospital gets a cut of the premium that the consumer pays us.<p>This creates a win-win for all 3 parties. Consumers don&#x27;t have to pay crazy health insurance premiums (which can be 15K easily for a family of 4 per year), pricing is transparent and even though they pay out of pocket for general services, the total they will spend per year will be MUCH less than average insurance premiums we pay today in the United States. Not to mention that insurance companies don&#x27;t get to butt in every decision about which service should have been covered and which one not. Doctor gives a bill, patient pays it and all done. Probably will put some medical billing companies out of business too ? Doctors&#x2F;clinics&#x2F;hospitals get a cut of the premium from every consumer who participates effectively creating a huge pool&#x2F;network.<p>Bonus feature: Our company will create a centralized platform where consumers can login and see their doctor visits and billing all in one place. No more individual health insurance websites or doctor billing websites. I can get a simple statement at the end of the year even if I visited 20 different doctors.<p>How we make money though with those lower yearly premiums will be a challenge. Btw, this was just a joke and a wishlist. I wish someone would do this.