HealthCARE Lab

What HealthCARE Lab does

Revenue is generated exclusively through sponsored research engagements rather than commercial sales. The lab's primary disclosed inflow is a $1,239,141 grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas for the Consumer Decision-Making in Healthcare project, supplemented by an $18,000 engagement from an anonymous hospital system for branding research on women's services within children's hospitals. Operations are staffed by a Lab Manager (Jordan Rodriguez), four affiliated researchers (Ernesto Castañeda, Sonya Grier, Madhu Viswanathan, Shuo Yu), a Marketing/Design lead (Katherine Nau Stinton), and nine research assistants drawn from American University, Texas Tech University, and UNAM. There is no disclosed parent company, venture investment, or endowment structure.

Name

HealthCARE Lab

Legal name

HealthCARE Lab

Website

https://hcarelab.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

HealthCARE Lab is an academic research collective co-directed by researchers at American University and Texas Tech University that studies consumer decision-making in healthcare, with emphasis on affordability, cross-border US-Mexico care, healthcare services, and healthcare policy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Research Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Biomedical Sciences & Medical Research Institutes (University-Based) (EDAHAGAI)

Keywords

• Healthcare consumer research
• Healthcare affordability research
• Cross-border healthcare studies
• Healthcare pricing research
• Health policy research

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington D.C.

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Sponsored Research: The lab receives funding from healthcare organizations and insurers to conduct research on consumer decision-making in healthcare. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas provided $1,239,141 for research on consumer decision-making in healthcare, examining price/quality concepts and consumption patterns. Additional funding from an unnamed hospital system ($18,000) for branding research.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

HealthCARE Lab is an academic research collective that conducts sponsored research on consumer decision-making in healthcare. The lab operates four primary research programs focused on healthcare affordability, cross-border healthcare utilization along the US-Mexico border, healthcare services and branding, and healthcare policy. It produces academic publications, maintains the Health Diaries blog series documenting healthcare affordability challenges, and engages students through research assistantships across its American University and Texas Tech University affiliations.

Product overview

HealthCARE Lab is a research collective focused on consumer decision-making in healthcare, consisting of four primary research focus areas (Affordability, Cross-Border Care, Healthcare Services, and Healthcare Policy) that function as distinct yet interconnected research programs. The lab produces academic publications and maintains a Health Diaries blog series documenting real-world healthcare affordability challenges. Rather than a traditional software product company, HealthCARE Lab offers research programs, sponsored research opportunities, and student mentorship through research assistant positions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Affordability Research Program Sponsored research program exploring the interplay between price, quality, and other influences on healthcare consumer decision-making processes, including price transparency, benefit design, and consumer perceptions of affordability.
• Cross-Border Care Research Program Sponsored research program examining patients utilizing US and Mexican healthcare markets and its effects on the Hispanic Health Paradox, with qualitative case studies and surveys along the Texas-Mexico border.
• Healthcare Services Research Program Sponsored research program studying the relationships between healthcare services and consumption concepts such as quality perceptions and branding, including brand strategy for hospital systems.
• Healthcare Policy Research Program Sponsored research program studying the impact that regulations and political rhetoric have on consumer perceptions of affordability, including research on healthcare pricing transparency legislation.

Quantifiable outcome

• Published monograph in Foundations and Trends in Marketing on studying healthcare from a marketing perspective (2022)
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered supporting.

• Ernesto CastañedasupportingOthersAffiliated researcher collaborating on HealthCARE Lab research projects including the Cultural Health Capital study published in the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities.
• Sonya GriersupportingOthersAffiliated researcher contributing to healthcare consumer research at HealthCARE Lab.
• Madhu ViswanathansupportingOthersAffiliated researcher and co-investigator on Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas funded research on consumer decision-making in healthcare.
• Shuo YusupportingOthersAffiliated researcher and co-investigator on Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas funded research on consumer decision-making in healthcare.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Urban Institute Health Policy Center: The Urban Institute's Health Policy Center conducts nonpartisan research on health coverage, affordability, and disparities affecting low-income and minority populations, with significant federal and foundation funding. It shares HealthCARE Lab's orientation toward consumer-facing healthcare economics research but operates at materially greater scale and breadth.
• RAND Health: RAND's health research division produces rigorous empirical and policy research on healthcare delivery, consumer behavior, and affordability for government and foundation sponsors. It is a much larger, broader incumbent operating in the same 'research services for healthcare decision-making' category as HealthCARE Lab.
• Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF): KFF is a major non-profit health policy research organization producing analysis on healthcare affordability, insurance, and minority health, widely cited by policymakers and media. It is comparable in mission (non-profit, research-driven, policy-relevant) but vastly larger in funding base and output volume than HealthCARE Lab.
• Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy: Duke-Margolis is a university-based health policy research center producing rigorous work on healthcare affordability, payment, and consumer-facing policy issues. It is comparable to HealthCARE Lab as a university-affiliated research entity influencing policy and practice, but with substantially larger funding, staff, and policy engagement.
• Commonwealth Fund: The Commonwealth Fund funds and publishes independent research on healthcare system performance, equity, and affordability, particularly for vulnerable populations. Like HealthCARE Lab, it centers consumer/patient affordability issues, but operates as a major private foundation rather than a university-affiliated research collective.
• Brookings Center for Health Policy: The Brookings Center for Health Policy produces research on healthcare affordability, equity, and consumer/patient experience for federal and foundation audiences. It is comparable to HealthCARE Lab in producing research that informs payer, provider, and policymaker decisions, but at materially greater scale and visibility.
• NORC at the University of Chicago: NORC is a university-affiliated independent research organization conducting large-scale survey, qualitative, and policy research on health, including disparities and consumer behavior. It is structurally analogous to HealthCARE Lab (university-rooted, survey- and qualitative-driven, sponsor-funded) but at significantly greater scale and with a national footprint.
• Mathematica: Mathematica is a non-profit research and consulting organization that delivers evidence-based research on healthcare delivery, quality, and consumer outcomes for federal and foundation sponsors. It shares HealthCARE Lab's research-for-hire model but operates with substantially larger staff, broader portfolio, and more commercial-style delivery.

Direct peers

• AcademyHealth: AcademyHealth is a non-profit membership organization advancing health services research and consumer-relevant health policy evidence. It is comparable to HealthCARE Lab as a research-driven, non-commercial organization focused on translating evidence into healthcare decision-making, though it operates more as a convening/membership body than a producing research lab.
• Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS): CHCS is a non-profit policy center focused on improving healthcare for people with low incomes, particularly through Medicaid and safety-net programs, including work on health equity and consumer access. It is comparable to HealthCARE Lab in mission (minority and underserved populations, affordability, non-commercial research) and is closer in scale than the major foundations above.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Hcarelab
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@hcarelab
• Facebookfacebook.com/100091684387689
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hcarelab
• Instagraminstagram.com/hcarelab

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HealthCARE Lab