Kenko Health is building India’s first integrated healthcare platform

The Kenko app is one stop shop – a super app for all your medical and health needs. Representative image
While health insurance plans cover various treatments and hospital costs, they are not able to curb all types of health care expenses of the policyholder. For example, a subscriber may have to spend on prescription drugs, a medical consultation for minor illnesses like the seasonal flu, or for dental, skin and hair care. A new health startup, Kenko Health, is trying to change that with subscription plans starting at Rs 299 per month.

Kenko was founded by two former professionals in the insurance industry. Dhiraj Goel is an actuary who has worked for various insurance companies in India for the past 15 years. Aniruddha Sen has spent over a decade in health insurance in leading digital roles. In an email interaction with FE Online, Sen shared the idea behind her business and details of the special plans she is offering to subscribers. Excerpts:

There are so many health insurance companies. What separates Kenko Health from them?
The fact that we are not a health insurance company. We are working to create the nation’s first health management organization (HMO) that not only covers healthcare expenses but also manages an individual’s medical conditions, leading to better long-term health outcomes. term. We envision eliminating inefficiencies in the insurance industry through data, technology and constant customer insight through some of our innovative offerings such as:

• Coverage of outpatient treatments such as medical consultations, dental, skin and hair care, diagnostics, prescription drugs, etc.
• Monthly subscription model – no upfront payment required for the full year
• Prepaid benefit plan
• Flat rate pricing for all customers

Tell us about the idea behind the Kenko Health platform and how did it get started?
A deep loathing for treating customers like numbers, an appreciation for the complexity of health insurance risk management, and frugal innovation are some of the principles they’ve built this business on. Start-ups these days are challenging age-old institutions, businesses and industries at an increasingly rapid pace. Most of the time, they provide first-time users with financial savings, technology-driven convenience, and a much better customer experience.

By keeping things fair, costs low and inefficiencies close to zero, the Kenko team tries to deliver revolutionary low prices. Kenko was built with the personal funds of this duo and, therefore, is as much their vision for a better healthcare system as an attempt to disrupt archaic business practices that simply don’t work anymore.

Kenko is a challenger brand in an under-penetrated category that is crowded with big players who promise too much and fail to deliver. Kenko is slowly preparing to become India’s first integrated health platform. to be in regular contact with the health of our customers using a Kenko score.

What is Kenko’s score?
Kenko Score gives our clients an objective assessment of their health and personal finances. This is based on over 40 parameters and the questions are very easy to answer. The whole process is online, automated and takes no more than 4-5 minutes. Once done, customers get their personal Kenko scores ranging from 0 to 1000. A minimum of 700 is required to be eligible for a Kenko plan. If eligible, the customer makes the first month’s payment and also provides an electronic money order for future payments.

Kenko arranges a medical examination for the client which is done at the convenience of his home. Results are available within 24 hours and the score is recalibrated automatically. If the Kenko score is still 700+, then the plan is activated and the account unlocked. This entire process is fully automated and takes no more than a day or two.

Kenko is fully committed to being the one-stop solution for all of our clients’ health management and healthcare needs. If it’s a health expense, Kenko has you covered.

How many clients have you acquired so far?
We have already acquired 25,000 customers.

What are your plans for the future?
We are constantly exploring partnerships in distribution, product improvement, OPD services, computer vision / AI capabilities and more. Some of the ones we have recently forged are with ImpactGuru for crowdsourcing for very large medical bills, Sova.Health which is a food and nutrition management platform, SabkaDentist for dental coverage, Nova Benefits – an employee benefits platform, Medulance – an emergency service provider. Many other partnerships are underway in all sectors, from care for the elderly to neobanks.

What plans does Kenko Health offer?
We have Kenko Health plans for individuals and businesses / SMEs. While Kenko Health business / SME plans can be customized, for the former we have 4 categories.

For individuals and families, we have different plans to meet the needs of each client. It starts with a basic INR 299 per month plan that offers 20% benefits on medical consultations, medications, lab tests, uncapped spending, and Covid-19 coverage. We have a plan for INR 599 per month that offers great value and benefits with a 50 percent discount on doctor’s visits, medications, and lab tests. Apart from that, we have family plans which can help take care of all family members. We also have plans dedicated to diabetic patients covering the costs of insulin and to the elderly specially adapted to their needs. We also only have OPD plans for individuals as well as the whole family that cover dental, mental health and vision care.

How to benefit from Kenko Health plans? In which cities can we take advantage of it?
It is very easy to benefit from a Kenko Health plan by logging into our website and showing up for a 5 minute Kenko score test. If your score is over 700, you can benefit from Kenko plans. They are available in all cities of India.

Does Kenko Health cover small health expenses like OPD visits for common illnesses like seasonal fever?
Yes, it covers all minor healthcare expenses, including common illnesses like seasonal fever. We even have Covid-19 coverage built into all of our plans.

What is the complaints process for Kenko Health users?
The Kenko app is one stop shop – a super app for all of your health and medical needs. For example, if you want to see a doctor, all you need to do is go to the list of doctors available on the app and select a time and date. The plan benefit is then deducted from the total cost and you can pay the balance instantly. No need to send us invoices and prescriptions! You can then proceed to the doctor’s consultation and our executives will stay in touch with you throughout the process to make sure everything is going well.

The process for taking advantage of all other benefits remains the same: open the app, select the service / product category and simply place your order. We’ve also gone to great lengths to make the hospitalization process super easy and instant on the app. As an exclusive benefit for Kenko clients, they receive their hospital treatment allowance directly into their bank account just prior to admission. Therefore, canceling the need to shell out money from one’s own pocket for the security deposit and wait for the discharge.

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