How can we get the support our kids need, faster?

Beaming Health is bridging the gap between families and top-notch service providers.

On entering the world of paediatric care, we’re not often met with a clear guide of ‘where to now’? And even once we’ve grasped an understanding of the help our child might need, we’re more likely to see them sitting on a waiting list than in a treatment room.

Having worked for several years at America’s biggest health insurer on a team serving parents of kids with developmental differences, Stanford Business School graduate Christopher Olmanson was well aware of these issues.

“Every day these parents would tell me how stressful it can be navigating health care and getting your kids started with services,” says Chris. “One of the biggest things that I heard from families was just how hard it was to find affordable care.”

The struggle starts with sourcing the right services for your child. Then, according to Chris, there tend to be only two less-than-ideal choices. Families can fork out cash and access services, or they can find a service covered by their health insurance… and wait.

“It’s tough for families because [they are] choosing between getting started and having to pay $100 out of pocket every day, or going to an insurance-covered provider that has a six-month waiting list. You're choosing between those two bad options.”

This is because not enough service providers accept health insurance.

“We found for speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy… a lot of these providers are small, solo practitioners who just don’t have the admin support to be able to take insurance. It’s time-consuming and a huge headache, so a lot of them just take cash payments.”

The Beaming Health Networknow helps independent providers by taking on all the work that comes with accepting insurance payments. As Chris explains: “Providers focus on care, we take care of everything else – all the things that providers don’t want to be dealing with.

“We’re pulling more and more therapists into our network and opening up a third option for families so they don’t have to decide between really expensive therapy or long waiting lists. Now they can get started with affordable care, really quickly.”

The Beaming Health Network currently supports Speech, Occupational and Physical Therapist, but Beaming has plans for expanding into other disciplines. “We want to be a place where people can come and get whatever they’re looking for,” says Chris. “Most kids need some extra support – we’re where you come to get that extra support.”

If you’re in the US, that is. Beaming Health comprehensively covers San Francisco and this year will expand to all of California before marching across the country, state by state. For the rest of the world, for now, a bounty of expert-reviewed articles on various therapies can be found in the platform’s Learning Centre.

As he drives Beaming Health into new territory and, undoubtedly, new challenges, what keeps Chris motivated to keep pushing the dial in this space? “I like working on hard problems and impactful problems – and this definitely checks the box on both of those,” he says. “I love talking with parents and providers and hearing that, ‘Hey, what you’re doing is really helpful’.”

Visit Beaming Health to get informed and connected.