Prenuvo CEO bets he can save lives and major healthcare spending by inverting the pyramid

American individuals and insurance companies spend more than $5.3 trillion on healthcare annually.More than 80% of that goes to treating chronic conditions and late-stage diseases that potentially could have been caught early, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information.But, one CEO is turning that model on its head, putting more resources into preventative care, rather than end-stage treatment, with the aim of saving both lives and money.In 2018, Andrew Lacy founded Prenuvo, a company offering full-body preventative MRIs.

Prenuvo now has 17 clinics across North America, Australia and the UK, and celebs fans in Kim Kardashian, Olivia Wilde and others.Lacy has plans to open more locations, and he’s betting that he can remake America’s largest sector.“You can imagine how much more efficient healthcare could be if we caught everything early,” Lacy told me in an interview at a Prenuvo clinic on Manhattan’s West Side.MRIs can detect cancers, aneurysms, and organ abnormalities that other imaging misses.

But, in traditional healthcare settings, you typically see a doctor, get blood tests, try an X-ray, maybe a CT scan, and only get an MRI months later if all else fails.“MRI is the most accurate imaging modality for our organs, but it’s the last thing you’re ever given,” Lacy explained.“You jump through pyramids of tests first.

We inverted that pyramid.”Of course, such high-tech healthcare comes at a cost.Prenuvo isn’t covered by insurance, so patients must pay the $2,500 cost of a full-body scan out of pocket.

(It is eligible for HSA/FSA reimbursement.) But, that’s far less than the $20,000 many hospitals would charge for such a procedure, according to Lacy.“One in five people come to us because it’s more expensive to get a single body part screened at another facility [compared to a full body scan at Prenuvo],” he said.For many, the cost of Prenuvo is well worth it.The company’s full-body MRI takes just 45 minutes ...