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Built on frontline experience, Authsnap helps healthcare providers manage and appeal denied claims—turning a manual, resource-heavy process into something scalable.
Two sisters carried the same genetic risk for cancer.
One received the preventative scan she needed, caught the disease early, and survived. The other was denied that same scan by her insurance provider—and never got the chance. The difference wasn’t clinical expertise or access to care. It came down to whether a claim was approved or denied.
“That wasn’t a one-off situation,” says Gretchen Heinen, a registered nurse and co-founder of Authsnap. “It happens all the time.”
The woman who passed away was the mother of one of Authsnap’s own team members—a reminder that these aren’t abstract cases, but outcomes that ripple through families and communities.
When Clinical Judgment Doesn’t Fit the Rule
Denied insurance claims represent an estimated $262 billion annually across the U.S. healthcare system. When claims are denied, the consequences extend beyond billing. Care slows. Resources are strained. In some cases, patients never receive treatment.
“It means people don’t get the care they need,” Heinen says. “Or they wait so long that the outcome changes.”
Some denials occur when a patient’s care doesn’t fit the insurer’s exact rules, even when the treatment itself is clinically appropriate. In one common scenario, a physician modifies a standard chemotherapy regimen because a patient can’t tolerate one of the drugs.
“Clinically, it’s the right call,” Heinen explains. “But administratively, it can trigger a denial of the entire treatment because it no longer matches the insurer’s exact protocol.”
And appealing those decisions requires time, documentation, and specialized knowledge—resources many providers don’t have. According to Heinen, up to 40 percent of denied claims are never appealed, often because providers lack the capacity to pursue them.
Turning a Manual Process Into Infrastructure
Heinen saw the pattern early in her career, working across emergency departments and care management roles. Small documentation gaps at the start of a patient’s visit could determine whether the entire hospital stay would be reimbursed.
“You could do everything right clinically and still not get paid,” she says.
After years of watching the problem compound, she reached out to Dr. Wael Khouli, a physician executive she had worked with previously. “I called him and said, ‘What do you think about solving this problem?’” she recalls.
They had seen the same breakdown from different vantage points—and recognized the same constraint: denied claims weren’t just common, they were difficult to respond to at scale. In most organizations, they fall to the bottom of already overloaded teams.
Authsnap focuses on the appeals process—the most resource-intensive part of the cycle. The platform uses AI to analyze patient charts, identify what’s required, and generate appeal documentation aligned with insurer requirements. Human experts validate the outputs, but the system handles the bulk of the work, turning what was once manual and inconsistent into something repeatable. It’s designed to handle clinical nuance—the gray areas that often determine whether a claim is approved or denied.
“Most providers don’t lack expertise,” Heinen says. “They lack capacity.”
As the company moved from concept to deployment, Authsnap received early backing from Michigan Rise, a venture investment fund of the MSU Research Foundation. For Heinen, the value extended beyond capital.
“The MSU Research Foundation was incredibly thorough,” she says. “They looked at our technology, our team, and how we think about the problem. That feedback made us better.”
That level of scrutiny helped refine the model early, positioning Authsnap to move more quickly once it entered deployment. The support also extended access—connecting Authsnap with health systems and partners, including early discussions with Henry Ford Innovations around a potential pilot to test its approach in real-world clinical and operational settings.
Where Capacity Changes Outcomes
In early use, the results have been measurable. While industry averages for successful appeals typically fall between 60 and 65 percent, Authsnap’s initial cases have seen rates closer to 80 percent—recovering claims that might otherwise have gone unaddressed. Inside health systems, the impact shows up quickly: fewer unresolved claims, more predictable revenue, and less strain on clinical teams pulled into administrative work.
For patients, the effect is less visible but just as important.
“When you’re really sick, you don’t have the time, knowledge, or capacity to navigate an insurance appeal,” Heinen says. “You’re just trying to get through the day.”
Authsnap aims to ensure those appeals are handled by the providers, before the burden ever reaches the patient.
A System Worth Paying Attention To
Not all of the $262 billion in denied claims is recoverable. But a significant portion is tied to the gaps between clinical decision-making and rigid administrative requirements—where care that is medically appropriate can still be denied due to how rules are applied. Close those gaps, and the effects compound: more claims resolved, more providers recovering revenue, more patients moving through the system without delay.
“For us, this is about access,” Heinen says. “If someone is entitled to care, they should receive it.”
To learn more about how Authsnap is helping providers navigate and appeal denied claims—and what that means for patient access—visit authsnap.ai. The company also shares educational content across Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok (@authsnap) to help patients and providers better understand and navigate insurance.
