Now that you've learned what SurgeryShopper is and how it works, we thought you’d be interested to know all about how SurgeryShopper.com makes its money, and whether or not it is going to cost you any money.
In this article, we’ll explain when SurgeryShopper is and isn’t free, and how it earns revenue. That way, you know exactly what kind of company you’re doing business with. Read below to find out more!
How much does SurgeryShopper cost to use?
SurgeryShopper is 100% free to use to discover providers that bundle up surgery prices for an episode of care and that offer discounts to those who pay in full on or before the day of surgery. Currently, there is no charge for users to call toll free and ask about pricing and locations or interest free financing to pay for their surgery (and travel if necessary). However, the company reserves the right to do so.
How does SurgeryShopper pay the bills, then?
SurgeryShopper.com earns revenues on its case management services when a user takes the next step and requests assistance to arrange surgery with a provider who does not offer case management and travel arrangements. It also earns revenue from non-facility/non-provider advertisers (insurance brokers, lenders, etc.) who pay for a limited amount of banner advertising that can click through to their sites and provide high quality, critically-needed backlinks. The company also conducts market research on market trends, destinations, consumer trends, price ranges of procedures and packages that is compiled and de-identified that can be sold to other businesses. This helps those businesses to plan strategies for marketing, branding, SEO and SERP and product design.
SurgeryShopper.com also gets some of its revenue from offering businesses (airlines, travel agents, car rentals, hotels, facilities, surgeons, and other allied providers) the chance to expedite an advertisement or savings offer (coupon) on its website, though this does not represent a large portion of its income. Instead, SurgeryShopper OnPoint™ is its cash pay healthcare business intelligence product, as it has the potential to earn significant revenue. We limit the number of ads on a page to avoid clutter and maintain the enjoyment of our visitors. We also vet the advertisers before accepting their ads. Ads must also conform to our brand standards. We also receive a very tiny commission when you download our branded prescription discount card. We don’t receive any personal health information about the purchases one makes using the card because there is no data to tie since there is no card registration process. That being said, every transaction yields us about $0.25 or less.
For example, if a user arranges surgery, SurgeryShopper can compile users de-identified demographic information with the providers and those with an interest in who pays cash for a program of this kind. That way, the business knows more about who their target audience is. This information is also of interest to tourism authorities and convention and visitor bureaus hoping to create a U.S. medical tourism destination brand. It is also of interest to foreign providers who have been sold a lot of garbage data about the American healthcare consumer, American healthcare prices, and have no realistic grasp of where Americans travel for health services, where the consumers are located and lifestyle and demographic and psychographic data and how to advertise and compete for patients.
A third way that SurgeryShopper.com earns revenues is through its collaboration with consultants. The consulting team is divided into two very specialized groups. Fee-based consultants who assist employers and labor unions to develop a benefit that engages SurgeryShopper (or a similar program) to designate approved providers and supply case management services, and fee-based consultants who help providers develop and operate a cash pay surgery program with bundled case rates. SurgeryShopper co-sponsors educational programs, webinars, seminars, and Master Classes presented around the nation by Dr Maria Todd, an invaluable resource to the industry and a SurgeryShopper co-founder. As a co-sponsor in this case, SurgeryShopper earns a percentage of the gate.
SurgeryShopper does not accept fee splits or commissions from healthcare providers who are listed on the site. Participation is by qualified merit and inspection only. SurgeryShopper does not compete with brokers and benefits advisers as a producer or benefits consultant except in matters specific to the design and implementation of a medical travel benefit program addition.
That’s it in a nutshell.
If you’re worried that this means you’ll be paying extra money for goods and services from websites that you find through SurgeryShopper.com, don’t be. Ad spend has no effect on the price that you pay for anything that you buy through it. The company placing the ad pays us the advertising space fees in full. They pay low fees but have to qualify to be found on our site and associated with our brand.
And, of course, you aren’t obligated to buy anything from any of our advertising partners’ services or products that you find through SurgeryShopper.com. You’re still in control of whether or not you want to visit those websites, or purchase any of their goods or services. Just know that spending money on websites that you find through SurgeryShopper.com helps to keep us running, too!
