Validation Institute
Validation Institute is a private healthcare validation organization that provides independent, third-party verification of vendor performance claims across savings, outcomes, metrics, contractual integrity, and fiduciary categories, backed by a $100,000 guarantee, serving healthcare solution providers, benefits advisors, and self-insured employers in the United States.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersRoseville, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Validation Institute does
Validation Institute is a private, founder-led organization that provides independent third-party validation of healthcare solution providers' performance claims. Founded by Al Lewis circa 2015 and headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts, the company offers six core validation services — Savings Validation, Outcomes Validation, Metrics Validation, Contractual Integrity Validation, Fiduciary Validation, and a discounted Startup Special — each backed by a $100,000 Credibility Guarantee and ERISA Immunity Guarantee. Validation methodology is proprietary and data-driven, with disputes referred to the American Arbitration Association. The company reports more than 10 years of validation history without successful challenge or appeal, with 100+ validated providers across multiple categories.
Beyond core validation, Validation Institute operates a portfolio of adjacent products: the BEST (Benefits Engagement Survey Tool) with a $1 million challenge reward, the RFP PowerTool, the VI GPT AI assistant, the ValidPoints monthly newsletter, the annual Health Value Awards (now in its ninth year), the YOU Powered Symposium, and the Healthcare Hackers listserv of approximately 1,300 healthcare purchasers and advisors. Educational offerings include the Certified Health Value Professional (CHVP) designation, the CORA/CORA Pro courses on outcomes analysis, and the Certified ERISA Fiduciary Compliance Officer program. Newer services include Forensic Reviews and Expert Witness Consulting and a CAA Compliance Certification with self-assessed penalties.
Revenue is generated through multiple streams: subscription validation services at $16,000 standard and $4,000 for startups, Premium Membership at $1,495 per year, per-use tool licensing ($1,000-$8,000), professional certification programs, referral program rewards up to $1,300 per validated vendor, and event-driven revenue from the Health Value Awards and YOU Powered Symposium. Go-to-market combines direct sales (via Calendly booking), referral channels through benefits advisors and employers, and event-driven engagement. Customer segments include healthcare solution providers (vendors), benefits advisors and consultants, self-insured employers and plan sponsors, and — more recently — early-stage healthcare startups. The company is a subsidiary/sister entity to Quizzify under founder Al Lewis's leadership.
Validation Institute firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Validation Institute
- Legal name
- Validation Institute
- Website
- https://validationinstitute.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Validation Institute is a private healthcare validation organization that provides independent, third-party verification of vendor performance claims across savings, outcomes, metrics, contractual integrity, and fiduciary categories, backed by a $100,000 guarantee, serving healthcare solution providers, benefits advisors, and self-insured employers in the United States.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Validation Institute industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Healthcare Performance Claim Validation Services
- NAICS
- Testing Laboratories and Services (541380)
- SIC
- Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Data Quality, Validation & Ground Truth Auditing (HDAAALAF)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Assessment & Examination Integrity Audits (EDADAGAE)
Keywords
Where Validation Institute is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Roseville
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Validation Institute business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Vendor Validation Services: Validation of healthcare solution providers' performance claims. Regular validation costs $16,000, with a special startup rate of $4,000 for companies seeking funding.
- Premium Membership: Annual membership at $1,495/year providing unlimited remote consults with CEO Al Lewis, 20% discounts on VI products, and access to fiduciary advisor validation.
- BEST Survey Tool: One-time use pricing for the Benefits Engagement Survey Tool ranging from $1,000 to $8,000 depending on customer type (Quizzify customers, validated entities, employers, consulting firms).
- Professional Certifications: Certified Health Value Professional (CHVP) designation and Certified ERISA Fiduciary Compliance Officer training programs.
- RFP PowerTool: Tool for creating RFPs to evaluate healthcare vendors, with pricing tiers for different user types.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Startup Validation - Special intro pricing for startups seeking funding |
| Subscription | Annual | Standard Validation - Regular validation services |
| Subscription | Annual | Premium Membership - Annual membership with consult access and discounts |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | BEST Survey Tool - Per use pricing based on customer type |
| Subscription | Annual | Startup Special - Lower-cost validation for early-stage companies |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels9 records
Validation Institute product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Validation Institute provides independent third-party validation services that verify healthcare solution providers' and benefits advisors' performance claims — covering savings, outcomes, metrics, contractual integrity, and fiduciary standards. Validations are backed by a $100,000 Credibility Guarantee and $100,000 ERISA Immunity Guarantee. The company also offers the BEST engagement survey tool, RFP PowerTool, VI GPT AI assistant, professional certifications (CHVP, ERISA Fiduciary Compliance Officer), CORA training courses, premium membership, and forensic review/expert witness consulting.
Product overview
Validation Institute offers a platform of independent third-party validation services for healthcare solution providers and advisors, designed to verify performance claims and build marketplace credibility. The core offerings include six validation types: Savings Validation, Outcomes Validation, Metrics Validation, Contractual Integrity Validation, Fiduciary Validation, and a Startup Special at discounted pricing. These are backed by a $100,000 Credibility Guarantee and ERISA Immunity Guarantee. The company also provides standalone tools including the BEST (Benefits Engagement Survey Tool) for measuring employee engagement across benefit programs, the RFP PowerTool for vendor evaluation, and VI GPT as an AI assistant. Educational offerings include the CHVP (Certified Health Value Professional) certification, CORA/CORA Pro courses on outcomes analysis, and a Certified ERISA Fiduciary Compliance Officer program. Additional services include the ValidPoints Newsletter, annual Health Value Awards, forensic reviews with expert witness consulting, Premium Membership at $1,495/year, and a referral program. The platform connects healthcare purchasers with validated solution providers, offering both free Basic Membership and paid Premium Membership tiers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- BEST (Benefits Engagement Survey Tool): A three-question survey tool that measures employee engagement across vendor programs, comparing cost-effectiveness and utility. Backed by a $1 million challenge reward.
- CHVP (Certified Health Value Professional)
- CORA / CORA Pro
- ValidPoints Newsletter
- VI GPT
- Health Value Awards
Products and services
- Savings Validation
- Outcomes Validation
- Metrics Validation
- Contractual Integrity Validation
- Fiduciary Validation
- Startup Special Validation
- BEST (Benefits Engagement Survey Tool)
- RFP PowerTool
- CHVP (Certified Health Value Professional)
- CORA / CORA Pro Courses
- Certified ERISA Fiduciary Compliance Officer Program
- VI GPT
- Premium Membership
- Forensic Reviews and Expert Witness Consulting
- CAA Compliance Certification
Quantifiable outcome
- Alight Healthcare Navigation validated for $296M in savings from 713,000+ medical cases over five years
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Validation Institute
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Validation Institute technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature4 records
Validation Institute partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- QuizzifyflagshipQuizzify is the parent company of Validation Institute. Al Lewis serves as CEO of both organizations. Quizzify provides health literacy education through interactive quizzes, and VI handles independent validation of healthcare performance claims. Premium members receive discounts on Quizzify products including the Weight Loss Drug curriculum.
- Healthcare Hackers ListservcoreA community of approximately 1,300 healthcare purchasers and advisors that vets Health Value Award nominations. The listserv serves as a peer review mechanism for validating award winners and provides input on industry trends.
- American Arbitration AssociationminorDesignated arbitrator for dispute resolution when Credibility Guarantee claims are triggered. Used for binding, final findings when validated vendors' claims are disputed.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves3 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Validation Institute competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- The Joint Commission: Largest US healthcare accreditation body, validating performance across hospitals and provider organizations. Operates in the same third-party validation category but at significantly broader scope and scale than Validation Institute.
- Mercer: Global health and benefits consulting firm that advises employers on vendor selection and performance assessment. Validation-adjacent services serving the same employer buyer base as Validation Institute.
- Willis Towers Watson (WTW): Global benefits and actuarial consulting firm that conducts vendor evaluations and validation-adjacent services for large employer health plans. Operates in adjacent validation space at much broader scale.
- Aon: Global professional services firm providing health benefits consulting, actuarial services, and vendor performance benchmarking for large employers. Comparable in serving the employer-side buyer audience.
- Healthgrades: Healthcare ratings and quality data platform that evaluates provider and hospital performance for consumers and employers. Comparable third-party validation role, though consumer-facing rather than employer-focused.
Direct peers
- AAAHC (Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care): Independent healthcare accreditation body validating ambulatory and outpatient organizations against performance standards. Comparable in mission and buyer audience to Validation Institute.
- NCQA (National Committee for Quality Assurance): Independent nonprofit that accredits and certifies healthcare organizations and validates quality performance (e.g., HEDIS). Most direct peer to Validation Institute in the healthcare credentialing/validation space, with comparable buyer audience of employers and health plans.
- URAC: Independent healthcare accreditation organization that validates performance standards across health plans, PBMs, and provider organizations. Comparable in mission and buyer audience to Validation Institute's employer-facing validation services.
- Leapfrog Group: Independent nonprofit that rates and validates hospital and healthcare provider quality performance for employer purchasers. Closely aligned with Validation Institute's employer-buyer audience and third-party validation model.
- KLAS Research: Healthcare technology research firm that rates and validates healthcare IT vendor performance through independent buyer interviews. Highly comparable to Validation Institute's vendor-claim validation model, particularly for digital health and AI tools.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Validation Institute social profiles
Digital presenceValidation Institute financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Validation Institute leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Validation Institute funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Validation Institute M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Validation Institute
What does Validation Institute do?
Validation Institute provides independent third-party validation services that verify healthcare solution providers' and benefits advisors' performance claims — covering savings, outcomes, metrics, contractual integrity, and fiduciary standards. Validations are backed by a $100,000 Credibility Guarantee and $100,000 ERISA Immunity Guarantee. The company also offers the BEST engagement survey tool, RFP PowerTool, VI GPT AI assistant, professional certifications (CHVP, ERISA Fiduciary Compliance Officer), CORA training courses, premium membership, and forensic review/expert witness consulting.
Is Validation Institute a public or private company?
Validation Institute is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Validation Institute founded?
Validation Institute was founded in 2018. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Validation Institute based?
Validation Institute is headquartered in Roseville, United States, in the North America region.
How does Validation Institute make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Vendor Validation Services are the primary driver. The others are premium Membership, BEST Survey Tool, professional Certifications and RFP PowerTool.
Who are Validation Institute's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are The Joint Commission, Mercer, Willis Towers Watson (WTW), Aon and Healthgrades. Direct peers are AAAHC (Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care), NCQA (National Committee for Quality Assurance), URAC, Leapfrog Group and KLAS Research.
Does Validation Institute have an API?
No public API is recorded for Validation Institute.
What industry is Validation Institute in?
Validation Institute's product category is Healthcare Performance Claim Validation Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAAALAF, Data Quality, Validation & Ground Truth Auditing, with a secondary code of EDADAGAE, Assessment & Examination Integrity Audits. Its NAICS code is 541380 and its SIC code is 8734.