Revolution Health Network has acquired HealthTalk, a site for patients with chronic conditions, and invested in SparkPeople, a site that offers diet and exercise advice. With these two investments, Revolution Health Network continues to build a platform that will reach as many people as possible while building the largest health brand from a consumer point-of-view.
RevolutionHealth.com recently launched a “College Health Center” to Steve Case’s health-care website. The site not only deals with perennial concerns like sexual health, healthy lifestyles, and personal safety, but also makes a special effort to address mental health topics like depression and home sickness. According to Case, RevolutionHealth.com is in part responding to raised awareness toward mental health concerns following the Virginia Tech University shootings last spring.
Medical bills often create a tangled mess of paper that can often lead to serious confusion with health care providers. A few innovative web services, such as those offered by RevolutionHealth.com, help families manage their personal health records and offer telephone support for health care queries. Coming at a time when more and more employers are encouraging consumers to take ownership of their health, health care management services will be a welcome technology for many.
The American healthcare system is broken in part because consumers lack the adequate tools and information to take ownership of their own health. Revolution Health and RevolutionHealth.com are playing an integral role in shaping how consumers can learn to make informed decisions. Equipped with first rate information from trusted sources, consumers can focus more on maintaining health then spending simply when something goes wrong.
The installation of low cost, rapid service mini-clinics like Revolution Health’s RediClinic in pharmacies and grocery stores has raised issues in the health care industry. Are there conflicts of interest? How do these clinics fit in the broader spectrum of American healthcare? Some in the health community believe these clinics may be part of the answer to providing low cost, quality health care.
RevolutionHealth.com, Steve Case’s health-care website, will be offering an online, innovative alternative to the traditional “packed cafeteria” health fair. Virtual booths and all, the fair will offer information on a number of conditions including mental health, autism, asthma, irritable bowel syndrome and celiac disease. Revolution Health reports that it will also be spotlighting smaller, less visible non-profit health groups and will donate up to $10,000 to various health organizations based on web traffic.
Interfit Health's RediClinic division has inked deals with insurance giants Aetna Inc. and Humana Inc. to begin accepting reimbursements from health plans.
An Atlanta university is offering alternative transportation and parking options, including a free shuttle service in the campus area, free MARTA passes, free park-and-ride lots and several Flexcars --- rent-by-the-hour cars for employees without a vehicle on campus who need to run errands.
Lime will provide healthy living tips to people in elevators via Captivate Network.
Lime, owned by Steve Case’s Revolution Living, will deliver insightful messages to professionals throughout the day via Captivate’s existing wireless digital screens in elevators in premier office towers across North America. More…
Readers of a trio of travel and spa magazines agree — when it comes to healing and the wellness experience, Miraval, Life In Balance knows its stuff. The Catalina-based company is ranked the No. 1 destination spa according to three readers' polls in industry magazines. More…
LaSalle Healthcare Administrative Services LLC, an operating company of LaSalle Bank, is launching the LaSalle CDH Solution, an integrated consumer-directed healthcare platform for administering health savings accounts, flexible spending accounts and health reimbursement arrangements. Partnering with ConnectYourCare, a Revolution Health Group company, LaSalle will offer a full service, customizable platform to employers, health plans and third-party administrators to administer consumer-directed healthcare accounts.
Last year, when AOL co-founder Steve Case launched the Revolution Health Group, a so-called "consumer-centric" company, many of Simmi Singh's colleagues knew it was the perfect place for her.
If you live or work in downtown or midtown Atlanta, you'll soon be able to jump in a Flexcar, an hourly rental car service that will be available at dozens of locations across the city. The service, set to launch Sept. 22, is geared for people who take a bus, train or carpool to work but sometimes need a car during the day to run errands, attend a meeting or go to the doctor. More…
In time for the new school year, District-based Flexcar expanded its deal with the University of Maryland to allow students 18 and older to join. Before, the companies could not accept members younger than 21, but Flexcar said it reached agreements with its insurance companies to lower the limit. Zipcar, which has an arrangement with George Washington University, offers 17 vehicles on campus for employees and students over 21.
America Online co-founder Steve Case was behind the investment at Flexcar, which announced a new management team earlier this summer, including a new chief executive, Mark D. Norman, who hails from the auto industry. "The whole opportunity for growth is a great benefit to our members," said Norman, formerly chief executive of DaimlerChrysler AG's Canadian operations. "With the additional cars, the benefits of the network effect continue to snowball."
Houston-based InterFit Health has gained coverage for visits to its 11 RediClinics from insurers Aetna and Humana. More…
Lanier Parking Systems is partnering with Flexcar to bring the hourly car rental company to Atlanta, a service marketed to people who take a bus or train to work and occasionally need a car during the day. More…
Downtown Bellingham developers have signed a contract with Seattle-based Flexcar, a national car share company, to provide two vehicles at the BayView Tower once construction is complete in 18 to 20 months. The deal could signal a larger move by Flexcar into Bellingham, if the company sees greater community interest in having a Flexcar fleet.
The phenomenon of luxury resorts and fractional-residence clubs is growing at a robust pace. Exclusive Resorts, founded in 2002, currently offers members access to some 300 residences, with nearly 40 in seven destinations in Europe, including London, Florence and St.-Tropez. The company recently announced a $72 million investment that will allow it to expand to more exotic destinations. In Tuscany, the company has six homes available at Castello di Casole, the Timbers development, with four more planned.
“We invested in the core stuff first,” said Donn Davis, chief executive of Exclusive Resorts, who cites destinations like Cabo San Lucas and Maui as some of the vacation hot spots the company focused on in its initial phase. “Now we’re in a position to go and give them the icing on the cake because the cake is done.”
Former AOL chairman Stephen Case is staking a claim in the growing market of retail-based walk-in medical clinics. In July 2005, he founded Revolution Health Group, now InterFit Health's largest investor. Though there are only 11 RediClinic locations now, the company expects to open 75 in the next year and have about 500 locations within the next three years. "Convenient care can revolutionize how patients deal with simple health problems, and how they get help staying well," says Case.
Bronx-born Nina Kaminer is widely regarded as a prime public relations architect for the marketing of the luxury-goods industry. She puts her money where her marketing is by staying at Exclusive Resorts. More...
Touting the virtues of a green, pollutant-free environment where everyone eats organically grown food, practices yoga and is in tune with their own inner voice is difficult in a crowded, noisy 500-channel cable environment. From its inception eight months ago, the network was built to take advantage of new forms of media available to consumers on and beyond the TV.
UC Berkeley will be one of six campuses around the country to take part in a pilot car-sharing program for 18- to 21-year-olds. Flexcar, a Seattle company, is stationing two Scions near the UC dorms in spaces provided free of charge by the university. It will allow students under 21 to rent the cars as long as they provide a $250 damage deposit that would be forfeited if the car is damaged, and have two years of driving experience, a clean driving record, and parental consent.
Ninety-five million Americans -- about 80 percent of online adults -- have searched the Web for health information in the past year, and the overwhelming majority have been disappointed.
More than 70 percent of those searchers either did not find what they were looking for or had a hard time knowing what to believe, according to market research studies by Jupiter Research and Yankelovich Inc.
That frustration has attracted some famous deep pockets, including America Online co-founder Steve Case, his former employer Time Warner Inc., the Carlyle Group and Allen & Co. Together, they have put more than $100 million into building virtual destinations that offer consumers something beyond disease encyclopedias.
Steve Case's healthcare company, Revolution Health, LLC is investing “tens of millions” in Redi-Clinics, a Houston-based chain, according to Reuters.
Steve Case, co-founder of Amerca Online, talks of living "more in balance" these days and not long ago bought his first hybrid car. He recently gave the keynote speech to a gathering of entrepreneurs in Santa Monica that included the inventor of an organic herbal throat spray, the maker of an immune-boosting tea and a psychic healer who talks to dogs -- the types of ideas his new company, Revolution LLC, is trying to pick through for products and services that might succeed in the mainstream.
"Some fringy stuff," Case said of the ideas he heard during the Southern California conference.
But then again, so was the Internet 20 years ago.
Revolution Places’ Cacique Resort will cater to visitors seeking an environmentally conscious luxury vacation. The $800 million, 650-acre luxury resort in Guanacaste will be the first resort built since Costa Rica declared it would become carbon-neutral by 2021. Energy consumption at the resort will be lowered by 40 percent and a reforestation project will repair damage done by previous owners. Cacique Resort will also work with the local government to improve the handling of waste and to develop transportation systems that will minimize pollution by guests, residents and employees.
For a growing number of travelers, vacation doesn’t simply mean good meals and relaxation; vacation means finding center in a culture of wellness and spiritual tranquility. “Yoga vacations” like those offered at Revolution Place’s Miraval resort in Arizona offer a variety of stress alleviating activities in addition to high-quality service. Mirival’s wellness fostering environment has become an essential lifestyle habit for those in stressful jobs like Tiffanie Archie of Washington, DC.
Revolution Place’s Cacique, Costa Rica resort typifies the booming “ultraluxury” movement in which “high-end” destinations now feature exotic locations, tasteful, innovate, and personal design, and unsurpassed exclusivity. Unlike the typical luxury destinations of old, ultraluxury establishments go beyond high quality amenities. In the case of Cacique, Costa Rica, resort life is marked by integration with local traditions and culture in a high-end, but tastefully merged setting.
Breaking the seemingly endless takeover of gaudily manufactured resort destinations, Steve Case announced Revolution Places’ development of Cacique, Costa Rica, an ultra high-end “eco-getaway” with an eye toward cultural and environmental sustainability. Case’s timely project capitalizes on a growing trend toward ecotourism, where environmentally conscious consumers seek a lower impact vacation. Instead of culturally foreign attractions, Cacique, Costa Rica packages adventure, indigenous culture, and conservation techniques into a re-definition of luxury.
Retired tennis stars Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf are now putting their weight behind investments in high-end hospitality and recreation instead of forehands and serves. One such “ace” for tennis’ “first couple” includes their involvement in Revolution Places’ Cacique, Costa Rica.
The two largest hourly car rental companies, Revolution’s Flexcar and Zipcar, plan to merge in a deal that will reshape the car-sharing industry. The two companies have found success by focusing on catering to environmentally conscious city residents who wanted a greener form of transportation.
More than hordes of eager freshman and returning students will be invading college campuses this fall; joining their ranks will be hourly car sharing services. Companies like Flexcar seek to capitalize on the 18-21 demographic that has been largely ignored by traditional car renters. Car sharing companies expect high demand from the majority of college students on limited budgets who still need cars to get groceries, go shopping, or attend off-campus events.
Car sharing companies are coming to colleges this fall, hoping to focus on college student’s need for transportation in a fix. Revolution’s Flexcar service’s hourly rates provide college students who need cars for necessary trips with an answer. The flexibility of car sharing services makes trips to Costco and the airport a cinch in a pinch.
Revolution’s Flexcar service is one of several companies promoting eco-friendly solutions for the car rental industry. Car sharing services like Flexcar already allow consumers to reduce their carbon impact by grouping their trips and minimizing car usage. For renters looking to save both money and the environment, the addition of Toyota Priuses and Honda Civic Hybrids these rental car fleets has been a boon to an already fledging corned of the market.
Revolution Money CEO Jason Hogg talks about how the RevolutionCard is changing the credit card industry. RevolutionCard has advanced security features and with the much lower transaction fees than legacy credit card companies, it has quickly gained adoption with merchants across the country. Hogg discusses how merchants can translate fee savings into immediate customer benefits such as reduced gasoline or free pay-per-view from your cable company.
Revolution Money’s Steve Case and Ted Leonsis are changing the way customers pay bills and transfer money online. The company’s credit/debit card and online payment system are targeted at users of online social networks with the aim of becoming the dominant money exchange platform for young people using these sites.
Companies who make up the large sector of the economy forking over $25 billion annually in credit card processing fees will be glad to hear about GratisCard, a Revolution backed firm that significantly reduces these fees. The payment system, which enhances security and prevents identity theft also creates reward opportunities for consumers by lowering back-end business costs.
St. Petersburg’s GratisCard announced the launch of a new card in April which will reduce business-side credit card fees from nearly 2% on to 0.5% on average. A welcome advancement for many in the business community, Gratis also expects higher approval rates for those with lower credit scores. Since GratisCard payment uses a bar code and pin number system, no signature is required, and time wasted with current processing systems and register lines should see reduction.
Steve Case’s Revolution seeks to capitalize on the dissatisfaction of retailers who bear the burden of credit card “interchange fees” that cost most American business two cents on the dollar on average. GartisCard’s strength lies in cutting those fees by roughly 75%. For some businesses, like the Philadelphia sports teams who play out of the Wachovia Complex, that translates into roughly $2 million a year that could be used for ticket promotion and rewards for fans.
