Healthfolio: deductibles be wildin.

Inspiration

Healthcare costs and insurance coverage in the U.S. are notoriously confusing. Between deductibles, copays, coverage percentages, and those random "out-of-network" surprises, keeping track of your personal healthcare expenses feels like a part-time job. We wanted to build something simple, personal, and helpful — a tool that makes it easier for everyday people to track their healthcare-related expenses and coverage progress in one place. Because honestly… deductibles be wildin.

What it does

Healthfolio is a web app designed to help users see their estimated healthcare expenses. The app allows users to search and add medical expenses that they may undergo, and displays the total estimated cost for their area. The goal is to demystify healthcare costs and help people feel a little more in control of their finances when it comes to medical care.

How we built it

We built Healthfolio using React to take advantage of its modular, component-based architecture and its smooth, dynamic front-end experience. The app is styled with CSS.

Challenges we ran into

Originally, we planned to build Healthfolio as a React Native mobile app. But since most of us were new to React Native and mobile-specific development, we quickly realized the learning curve was slowing us down and making it harder to focus on core features. So, we made the call to pivot to regular React and focus on building a web app

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We create what we believe is a good UX for a finance app since they hinge on clarity and simplicity.

What we learned

We got more in-depth experience in React and Tailwind CSS. Most of the website's cosmetic features are due most to Tailwind. We also learned how to use ChatGPT's image generation more fruitfully.

What's next for Healthfolio: because deductibles be wildin.

The next step would be to use a more comprehensive dataset, like the ones offered at Turquoise Health. While access to their large and diverse datasets cost money, it would be a logical first expense if Healtfolio became a start-up. Eventually we would like to upgrade the app so it allows users to log medical expenses, categorize them (doctor visits, prescriptions, dental, etc.), and see how close they are to meeting their annual deductible and out-of-pocket max.