Certainly Health, a healthcare marketplace for booking medical and cosmetic care with upfront prices, announced that it has received $2.3 million in funding led by Pacific 8 Ventures, Y-Combinator, and other institutional and angel investors. The new infusion of capital will be used to expand the team and improve the company’s product.
Certainly is a marketplace for patients to book doctors with insurance while avoiding surprise bills. Patients enter their insurance and visit reason, and Certainly uses machine learning to predict and guarantee their out-of-pocket costs across providers in their neighborhood. For patients who book on the platform and end up owing more than the prices listed, Certainly will cover the difference on their behalf. This also means providers booked through Certainly will always get paid the entire patient responsibility.
57 percent of Americans have received a surprise bill, and 38 percent of Americans delay care for fear of the bill. Meanwhile, the cost of a healthcare service can vary by hundreds of dollars across providers with no difference in quality. “Even with good health insurance, both my cofounder and I have received unexpected medical bills for thousands of dollars over the years,” says Kevin Chiu, co-founder and CEO. “These personal experiences are at the core of our mission to empower healthcare consumers to book health providers without fear of the bill.”