New York, NY, March 9, 2022 — Mishe, the only pay-as-you-go healthcare marketplace, and Tuned, the rapidly growing hearing health platform, today announced a strategic alliance. The alliance opens access to preventative hearing wellness, hearing health care, and new OTC hearing devices to all Mishe users.

With hybrid and remote work environments increasing the time spent on video calls, hearing health is becoming a critical part of employee benefits. Studies show that the average adult now uses a headset for up to 7 hours per day, and 1 in 4 working-age individuals have tinnitus. Traditional employer health insurance plans do not offer hearing wellness coverage.

“We know, through studies out of Johns Hopkins, that each employee with untreated hearing issues increases their employer healthcare spend by over $11,000. That’s hard dollars. We know that the American Diabetes Association just released a critical guideline: every diabetic should have their hearing screened annually. We know that mental health issues increase if there are hearing issues. Mishe’s team has demonstrated that they can improve care overall while also drastically reducing costs. We are proud to partner with them on this shared goal, and offer access to this kind of hearing health.” said Kate McGinley, co-founder and Chief Growth Officer.

“Most people don’t realize when we look at quality of life, hearing loss contributes to more suffering than hypertension, obesity, or strokes. Yet, Medicare and many insurance carriers don’t cover hearing exams or hearing aids as a standard benefit, even though over a third of us will experience hearing loss in older age — another example of our broken system,” said Sandeep Palakodeti, MD, MPH, Mishe’s Co-Founder and Chief Health Officer. “Mishe is proud to partner with Tuned to empower clinicians and patients to work together directly and offer this critical benefit to millions of Americans.”

Both individuals and businesses using Mishe’s platform can now access Tuned’s hearing screener, the most clinically validated online hearing health tool, Tuned’s hearing health services, and Tuned’s product marketplace, including:

  • Preventative wellness care, designed for workplace headset use
  • Annual hearing screenings for diabetics
  • Treatment for tinnitus, auditory processing disorder, and mild hearing loss
  • Alternative amplification products, all of which have been vetted by audiologists

Mishe and Tuned plan to expand the partnership over time.

ABOUT MISHE

Mishe empowers clinicians and care organizations across all specialties and delivery channels to increase access to direct-to-consumer care options. The mishe Pay-As-You-Go Healthcare® Marketplace connects consumers directly with clinicians at their cash prices, which helps both sides bypass insurance to avoid extra costs and surprise bills. Mishe’s HIPAA compliant platform offers an easy contactless payment solution, affordable Buy Now Pay Later financing options, AI-powered omnichannel engagement, and a superior integrated care navigation experience end-to-end. Mishe is healing healthcare by giving consumers access to the best possible care prices and providing clinicians with an affordable go-to-market channel for innovative care offerings. Learn more at www.mishe.co

ABOUT TUNED

Tuned changes the model for hearing healthcare: from a reactive, hearing-aids focused approach, to a proactive approach that includes wellcare and early interventions. Tuned empowers employers to deliver inclusive hearing health care to employees, across all hearing abilities. Tuned supports the care with comprehensive product options to support hearing health, freeing employers from the need to evaluate thousands of headset and software combinations. Today, 1.4 million people can access Tuned through employer benefits and marketplaces such as Mishe. Tuned is a private company headquartered in New York City, with audiologists across the United States and worldwide. For more information www.tunedcare.com

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