New Approach to Medical Costs

Americans spend more than $265 billion a year out of pocket on healthcare and pile up medical debt, struggle to pay it off and sometimes end up in financial ruin. Now Haddam, CT-based Criterion Ventures is creating a new approach to dealing with those costs. Criterion's idea is to weave together private and public sources of payment, negotiate discounts on hospital and doctor care, and load it all onto a hybrid debit-credit card. Criterion believes the project will help people avoid drowning in medical debt and could also reduce bill collection hassles for care providers. Read the full article from the Hartford Courant.