Read on Twitter
What you may not know is that this simple authorization took our team 22 months to get.
A quick thread. https://twitter.com/SeemaCMS/status/1321525757051604993
A quick thread. https://twitter.com/SeemaCMS/status/1321525757051604993
We know financial services. Regulation doesn't scare us. But we also knew you can't offer portable benefits without a really compelling health insurance offering.
Providing a single health insurance plan or carrier wouldn't cut it. Why?
Providing a single health insurance plan or carrier wouldn't cut it. Why?
Health insurance is regulated at the state level. We'd have to integrate with dozens of carriers to cover even a portion of the country.
But MORE IMPORTANTLY
Tax credits. Without working with the government, you can't get tax credits for the 86% of Americans who qualify.
But MORE IMPORTANTLY
Tax credits. Without working with the government, you can't get tax credits for the 86% of Americans who qualify.
These credits average thousands of dollars a year, and are a really important part of making the Affordable Care Act "affordable."
So, we went to our friends at @CMSGov. They have been working on APIs to let third parties like us integrate directly to the Marketplace.
So, we went to our friends at @CMSGov. They have been working on APIs to let third parties like us integrate directly to the Marketplace.
This integration is (to put it mildly) complex. 36 states. Hundreds of carriers. Thousands of plans. Edge cases on edge cases on edge cases.
Never in my career have I built on a system where every detail is as nuanced, specific, and critical. There is no margin for error.
Never in my career have I built on a system where every detail is as nuanced, specific, and critical. There is no margin for error.
Additionally, the compliance and audit infrastructure for this system is a BEAST.
Rightfully so, because we're now integrated to one of the largest databases of health info in the world. Security & privacy is no joke.
Rightfully so, because we're now integrated to one of the largest databases of health info in the world. Security & privacy is no joke.
After submitting our build in the summer of 2019, we thought we were done with the hard part.
But truly, every possible outcome has to be accounted for, and our system must be ready to uphold the sort of traffic and security that healthcare .gov does.
So the real work began.
But truly, every possible outcome has to be accounted for, and our system must be ready to uphold the sort of traffic and security that healthcare .gov does.
So the real work began.
Every person on our team, I mean EVERY SINGLE ONE, has played a critical role in getting us over the finish line. Design, engineering, product, engagement, finance, compliance, marketing, project management.
A simple tweet from the CMS Administrator, but now so much has changed.
A simple tweet from the CMS Administrator, but now so much has changed.
Catch now has the ability to offer plan comparison, insurance application, identity verification, tax subsidies, and completed enrollment for individuals and families who need coverage (in 36 states). In our UI. In our control.
Catch is the only company to offer Enhanced Direct Enrollment on top of a suite of financial products and services like savings and investment management.
We are also the only company to do health insurance enrollment MOBILE FIRST. (low income a11y!)
We are also the only company to do health insurance enrollment MOBILE FIRST. (low income a11y!)
We're building for a future that's not quite here yet. One where benefits aren't tied to employers. But we're making bricks every day.
This milestone may sound easy, but has taken a near immeasurable amount of work to get done.
Congratulations to the @CatchBenefits team.
This milestone may sound easy, but has taken a near immeasurable amount of work to get done.
Congratulations to the @CatchBenefits team.
One last shoutout to our awesome investors @evancharles @j2ulie @clara_brenner @km @stevejang @djsica for believing in us, pushing us, and also not asking us every damn day what the status of this approval was because I'm pretty sure THAT would have killed me. 
