Healthy is what we're after

And solving America's health care challenges requires the kind of innovation that only comes from competition.

The X PRIZE Foundation has long been thinking about the idea of an X PRIZE in the area of health care. After all, the system is confusing, expensive, and doesn’t cover everyone efficiently or equally. This is an area in desperate need of the kind of breakthroughs that the X PRIZEs can provide.

And now we’ve found a partner to help us with the development of such an X PRIZE. WellPoint, Inc. has given the X PRIZE Foundation a grant to explore the possibility of a Health Care X PRIZE. We’re going to talk with the top minds in the healthcare industry to find out exactly where it’s broken, and ideas for how it can be fixed. WellPoint, as one of the leaders in health care innovation, will be a great source of information and contacts in developing this prize. When we’re finished talking to people, our goal is to have a prize concept that will lead to the creation of a whole new way of looking at health care.

If you’re an expert in this area, and want to have a voice in the development of a prize, please send us a message, including your credentials and an overview of any ideas that you might have.

But industry-players aren’t the only ones we want to hear from. Nobody knows where the healthcare system is sick more than the people who have to use it day in and day out. So we want to hear from you, the general public. What’s broken? Where are you having trouble? What doesn’t make sense? How can healthcare be made easier? Staying healthy should be the easiest thing in the world. We want any prize that we create to find a solution that benefits the users of the healthcare system. Leave us your feedback here or on the Healthcare X PRIZE page.

I’ll be posting relevant comments as new blog posts in an effort to keep the conversation going, because we really do want to hear from everyone out there reading this blog.

Stay Healthy!