A new Milwaukee-based startup company has launched with the mission to make health care more affordable for consumers struggling to manage ongoing medical conditions.
WePurchit.com, which officially got off the ground March 18, offers medical supplies at discounted rates through the power of group purchasing.
The site, which has been in development since last December, is a product of the company Blue Bananas, located at 501 W. Michigan St. in Milwaukee, and aligns with its overall goal to improve the affordability of health care for people impacted by chronic medical conditions.
“We try to just make it a little easier on them to manage these conditions,” said Chris Keller, co-founder of Blue Bananas and WePurchit.com.
When a user enters www.WePurchit.com, they can create a free account and can scroll through the current deals being offered. When a user finds a deal they’re interested in, they click “view this deal” to transition to a page that includes consumer information on the product. For medications, that information will include instructions about how to take the medication as well as active ingredients. The user then has the option to click “join this deal” and proceed to payment.
With the element of group purchasing factored into the site, deals will require a certain number of people to sign up. Once that number is hit, the deal will tip and the startup will begin shipping out the medical product.
Deals will typically run between three and five days and will feature discounts ranging between 20 and 60 percent off, according to Keller.
While the site currently offers branded and generic over-the-counter medications such as pain medications, allergy medications and acid reflux medications, it aims to expand its offerings to products like allergy-friendly pillows and test strips for glucose monitors used by diabetics.
The company also hopes to add a voting feature to the site so that consumers can weigh in on what products they find most useful and those they would like to see on the site.
“We want to provide as much value to our consumers as we can,” Keller said. “We understand that managing ongoing medical conditions is a pain and you shouldn’t have to pay an arm and a leg to manage these. We really want to have a whole portfolio of products that can make a difference in (customers’) lives.”
To avoid selling medications to individuals taking them for reasons outside their intended use, WePurchit is avoiding selling decongestants and behind-the-counter over the counters, Keller said. The startup will also limit the number of medications a consumer can purchase per transaction.
The startup is fueling its launch with seed funding from an investor and partners with drug manufacturing companies to build up its medical supplies.
WePurchit.com is the first of a handful of initiatives that Blue Bananas is working to put in motion in order to ease the cost burden forced on individuals managing ongoing medical conditions.
“We have a long list of other opportunities that we’re interested in looking into,” Keller said.
Blue Bananas was established in November 2012 and includes additional co-founders Brandon Alberti, Ryan Konicek, Steve Dziedzic, Jannine Dobson and Michelle Kelly.
Consumers interested in WePurchit can also sign up through the company’s Facebook page.
