The American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA) and its innovation lab, Rm8, have joined forces with LaaSy Health, a pioneering healthcare service provider, to offer AANA members affordable and accessible healthcare.
Joel Tompkins, MSN, CRNA, and CEO of LaaSy Health, is a strong advocate for pricing transparency in healthcare. His company offers clear, upfront pricing for its members, providing access to direct-pay providers who disclose the total cost of care prior to service. Importantly, LaaSy Health is not an insurance company, but a membership program designed to deliver healthcare at significantly reduced costs.
“Healthcare remains one of the few industries where you can undergo a procedure with no clear understanding of its cost,” Tompkins explains. “Many patients are unaware of their deductibles, and months later, they are blindsided by an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) demanding thousands of dollars.”
Tompkins also emphasized the importance of the No Surprises Act, a federal law enacted in 2022, which many patients remain unaware of. This law allows patients to request a good faith estimate from hospitals for both insured and cash pricing options, with hospitals required to respond within three business days.
“Astonishingly, when patients opt for cash pricing, they often receive a substantial discount,” says Tompkins. “LaaSy Health leverages this dynamic within our platform, ensuring that our members secure the most competitive pricing available within their geographic area. For instance, while a hospital might charge $2,500 for a CT scan, LaaSy Health can typically reduce that cost to a cash price of $400 or $500.”
In its business development efforts, LaaSy Health has strategically focused on serving the uninsured and underinsured, particularly Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) who work as independent contractors. “In the post-COVID landscape, a significant number of CRNAs transitioned to 1099 contracts, which left them grappling with the challenges of securing affordable healthcare,” Tompkins observes. Many of these professionals turned to healthcare.gov, Chambers of Commerce, or health share plans to find coverage.
Recognizing this gap in the market, Tompkins envisioned a more accessible and affordable alternative. LaaSy Health is a comprehensive direct-pay marketplace that allows both employers and individuals to access deeply discounted healthcare services directly from providers. “Our goal is to help people avoid using their insurance or health share plans for everyday medical needs,” Tompkins notes. “Traditional insurance should be reserved for major medical expenses, yet most claims are for routine services like primary care, immunizations, and pediatric visits.”
LaaSy Health offers a highly cost-effective solution, with plans starting as low as $30 per month, which include a pharmacy component. Tompkins shares a success story involving a family of eight, all of whom require various prescription medications. Even though they maintain a Blue Cross Blue Shield plan, by enrolling in LaaSy Health’s family plan, they have saved thousands annually on prescriptions.
“Instead of paying for each prescription through their insurance plan, they now benefit from our comprehensive family plan, which includes generic equivalents at significantly reduced costs,” Tompkins explains. “LaaSy Health doesn’t have to replace existing insurance; it can complement it by reducing out-of-pocket healthcare spending, especially on maintenance medications that typically never meet deductibles.”
Beyond pharmacy benefits, which cover over 400 generic medications—representing 90% of all prescribed drugs in the U.S.—LaaSy Health also provides virtual urgent care, virtual behavioral health, preventive care via both virtual and in person routes, deep discounts on labs, discounts on imaging, bundled pricing for surgery/procedures, a health share option, and access to a nationwide network of approximately 350,000 physicians who accept cash payments through the platform.
Tompkins is enthusiastic about the partnership with AANA and Rm8, as it aligns with LaaSy Health’s mission to offer more healthcare options to CRNAs. “This partnership allows us to give back to the CRNA community, which has been instrumental in my journey,” he says.
LaaSy Health membership is open to everyone, not just CRNAs. “We founded LaaSy Health to ensure that every American can access high-quality healthcare through a membership-based model,” Tompkins affirms.
Learn more and sign up at laasyhealth.com/aana.