Making Health Maintenance Affordable and Accessible: The Ravida Approach

In an era where healthcare costs are a significant concern for many, the concept of regular health maintenance might seem like a luxury beyond reach. There’s a reason why 40% of adults in the U.S. delay going to a medical professional due to perceived cost - even appointments to answer simple questions can end up with $100 payment towards your $6,500 deductible.

It feels like there are "gotchas" at any moment and you never quite know what you are walking into because most health-related issues are surprises.

You rarely go into a basic chat with your doctor knowing ahead of time that you’ll need specific labs. Even if you do, you don’t know if the labs that are contracted with your clinic are in-network or out-of-network (we’ll talk more about that in a later post)

The importance of preventive healthcare measures, such as annual check-ups, dental visits, and wellness programs, cannot be overstated. These practices are crucial in the early detection and prevention of health issues.

Dealing with these issues can be far less costly and more effective than treating conditions after they've developed. From chronic illnesses to emergency visits, it is common for people to “take care” of physical ailments when they are bad enough to disrupt their quality of life.

The High Cost of Neglecting Preventive Healthcare

Historically, a major barrier to accessing preventive healthcare services has been cost. Many adults will avoid regular check-ups and wellness programs due to the fear of high medical bills, but it goes further than that. There Is a fear that it will uncover the need for more invasive and expensive procedures to address what is discovered.

So, it’s two-pronged. You feel a twinge in your gut and you instantly understand that:

1) It’ll cost you money to go to the doctor because they have to run tests

2) Those test could reveal something that will cost even money before you hit your deductible and out-of-pocket maximum.

This aversion can lead to the late detection of diseases, which often results in more complex, invasive, and expensive treatments anyway. The irony is stark: by avoiding the costs of prevention, individuals often end up facing far higher costs for treatment.

Beyond the financial implications, the human cost — in terms of suffering and decreased quality of life — is immeasurable when expanded to the global populace. As a human being, it is inhumane to create a system that is so dense and cost-prohibitive that you would rather live in pain than get treated immediately.

That is the decision that people make every day. Not just in the United States, but all over the world.

Ravida's Solution: Spreading Costs Over Time

Ravida’s mission is to make healthcare more humane. Our platform allows people to get the care they need, when they need it.

By splitting health and wellness expenses into biweekly micropayments, we empower people to live longer and healthier lives. If we’re successful in our mission, delaying going to the doctor because of costs will be perceived as a silly notion.

Your friends and family will say to you, “go ahead and get that mole removed, you know you can just use Ravida.”

When you leverage us you’re not just spreading the costs of health maintenance over time, you are earning unlimited cash rewards in the process…without having any interest (ever).

This model not only makes regular health check-ups, dental visits, and participation in wellness programs more manageable financially, but also encourages a proactive attitude towards health. In a world where the traditional system prioritizes treatment and profits over prevention and quality of life, we see things a little differently.

Singularly addressing the financial barriers to preventive care, we built a GAME CHANGER for personal health.

The best part? You can use us for anything! Preventative care, physical therapy, dietary planning, personal training, therapy.

You name it and you can use Ravida to help spread the costs over time.

The Benefits of Regular Health Maintenance

Regular health maintenance offers numerous benefits, chief among them the early detection of potential health issues. Conditions like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease can often be managed more effectively when caught early. Additionally, regular check-ups provide an opportunity for healthcare providers to offer advice on maintaining a healthy lifestyle, potentially preventing diseases before they start.

Wellness programs, another component of preventive healthcare, focus on maintaining or improving health through activities such as exercise, nutrition counseling, and stress management. These programs can significantly reduce the risk of chronic diseases, improve mental health, and enhance the overall quality of life.

Dental health, one of the most overlooked areas of preventive care, is another critical area. Especially because procedures can be misclassified causing a headache in dealing with dental and health insurance providers. There are countless cases where a person will need oral surgery and then have to enter into a three-way knife fight to determine which of their insurers will pay for it (ultimately ending up in situations that negatively impact their credit scores).

How Ravida Encourages Proactive Health Management

Our platform naturally encourages people to take control of their health - to go on the offensive. This was an intentional byproduct of building a platform that helps anyone split their health expenses over time.

We empower our community of users to have a more collaborative relationship with their providers. Frequent interactions help to develop trust and support a shared decision-making process.

It may feel awkward to have such a back-and-forth relationship with your primary care physician, but think of it this way: wouldn’t you rather have someone who knows everything about your little aches and ailments along the way vs. seeing you for the first time when you think something is feeling “off?”

When you wait until you NEED medical assistance to reach out to a doctor, you will understand how mistakes can be made in terms of how treatment is handled. They don’t know how your insurance has shifted, what your priorities are, your pain tolerance, and a host of other things.

Many hospitals and clinics are pushing doctors to be more efficient (meaning each patient gets less face time), and starting from zero every time you need medical advice is actually detrimental to your long-term health.

Being proactive means that you are partners with your health and wellness professionals, peeling back the layers of your health like an onion. That’s where the sweet spot is when you can see around corners with the help of all of your providers.

The Broader Implications for Healthcare

The implications of our strategy for building out the platform extend beyond individual benefits to potential shifts in the healthcare system at large.

By promoting and facilitating access to preventive care, Ravida could help reduce the overall burden on healthcare systems. Preventive care can lead to a decrease in the incidence of chronic diseases, which are a major driver of healthcare costs. In the long run, this could lead to more sustainable healthcare systems that can provide better care to more people.

Our model highlights the importance of innovative solutions in addressing healthcare challenges. By rethinking how we approach and finance healthcare, we can find new ways to improve access and outcomes for everyone. This model serves as an example of how technology and innovation can be harnessed to serve public health.