Amino to Become the First Company to Receive National, Physician-Level Medicare Claims Data as Part of CMS's Qualified Entity Program

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Dec 16, 2015) - Amino, a consumer health care company, today announced that it has achieved Qualified Entity (QE) Status under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) data sharing program and will be the first for-profit company to receive a complete set of national, physician-level claims data from Medicare parts A, B, and D. These CMS claims will be added to Amino's expanding database -- already more than 5 billion health care interactions representing 188 million Americans -- that powers a free service to help Americans make informed health care decisions, starting with the doctors they choose.

"People have been in the dark far too long when it comes health care quality, outcomes, and cost, yet they are being forced to make high-stakes health care decisions more than ever," said David Vivero, CEO and co-founder of Amino. "We created Amino to make valuable health care information accessible to everyone, with a mission that aligns greatly with the QE Program's emphasis on transparency and consumer empowerment. With access to the full picture of the Medicare community's experiences, we'll be able to build on our industry-leading database and, for the first time ever, give people an unprecedented resource for navigating health care throughout their lifetimes."

The QE program, established in the Affordable Care Act to increase transparency and empower consumers with information on health care practices and providers, has rigorous guidelines as it relates to the handling and use of sensitive health care data on nearly 50 million Americans under Medicare. Amino, as a company with a mission to give the clearest picture of health care for all Americans, has surpassed these guidelines and will be receiving data, totaling around 3 billion Medicare claims data under parts A, B, and D per year since 2009, in early 2016.

In order to achieve QE status, Amino is implementing the highest levels of data security and patient privacy, while also providing consumers with meaningful information to help them make informed decisions. With sensitive handling of both de-identified and identified patient data at a national level, Amino is able to track health care longitudinally to shed light on health conditions and procedures over time and across providers.

"The QE program encourages the flow and analysis of data to create better health outcomes, and Amino was founded on the mission of helping people make more informed decisions about their care," said Bryan Sivak, former CTO for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and an Amino advisor. "There is great potential for Amino to become an unbiased, one-stop shop for health care decision-making, especially as the company identifies insights through data that can help lower costs while boosting quality of care for all Americans."

In addition to making valuable health care insights more accessible to everyone, Amino recognizes a huge opportunity to help define what quality care means for consumers with the newfound Medicare data. As such, it has convened a committee of prominent stakeholders representing patients, providers, payers, employers, and suppliers, which is under review to become one of the nation's first Consensus Based Entities (CBE) authorized to review and endorse quality-of-care measures using Amino's unprecedented commercial and Medicare data.

Amino launched in October 2015 to help people make confident, data-driven health care decisions. Its first service, available at Amino.com, helps people find doctors experienced with their needs and suitable to their preferences. The company will soon provide answers to a wider range of health care questions, including procedures, treatment options, and costs.

About Amino:
Amino aims to connect everyone to the best health care possible. Powered by a comprehensive database that includes nearly every practicing doctor in America and experiences from more than 188 million patients, Amino's service empowers people to make confident decisions about their health care, starting with the doctors they choose. The company is based in San Francisco and is backed by Accel Partners, Charles River Ventures, Rock Health, and notable individual investors.