How We Make Money

Introduction

Transparency about business models matters. How a company makes money shapes what content it produces and how that content serves readers. This page explains BlueRipple Health’s revenue model and why it differs from typical health information sources.

Most health content is funded in ways that create conflicts of interest. These conflicts contribute to the systematic failures in health information. Understanding those conflicts helps readers evaluate sources critically. Understanding our different approach explains why we can provide independent analysis that other sources cannot.

Our Business Model

BlueRipple Health makes money one way. We sell research reports designed to help readers become optimally informed healthcare consumers.

That’s the entire business model. There is nothing else.

We have no sponsors. No advertising. No paid placements. No affiliate relationships with healthcare providers, pharmaceutical companies, device manufacturers, or any other industry participant. No one pays us to recommend their products or services.

Our reports provide comprehensive ecosystem analysis on specific topics. They synthesize the evidence, explain the options, map the economic forces at play, and provide guidance for navigating the system. This information prepares readers for better conversations with their healthcare providers. Readers pay for this analysis because it helps them engage more effectively with the healthcare system.

Why This Structure Matters

Business models create incentives. Those incentives shape content.

Advertising-supported health sites need traffic. Traffic comes from content that attracts clicks. Clickable content is often sensational, alarming, or oversimplified. The business model pushes toward engagement over accuracy.

Affiliate-supported sites earn commissions when readers purchase products through their links. This structure creates incentives to recommend products that pay higher commissions, even when lower-commission alternatives might serve readers better.

Sponsored content blurs the line between editorial and advertising. When healthcare companies pay for content, that content tends to favor the sponsor’s interests, even when disclosure is provided.

Our structure avoids these conflicts. We have no incentive to sensationalize, to favor high-commission products, or to serve sponsor interests. Our only incentive is to be useful to the people who buy our reports.

If our analysis is biased or lazy, readers won’t buy. If we recommend inferior options, readers will learn and stop trusting us. The market provides accountability that advertising and affiliate models do not.

How This Compares to Other Sources

Consider how different health information sources make money.

Hospital and health system websites promote their own services. The content is not designed to help you find the best care available. It is designed to direct you to care within their system.

Pharmaceutical company websites provide information about their products. That information is accurate within narrow bounds but does not help you compare alternatives or understand the full landscape.

Government health agencies are funded by taxpayers and face different constraints. Their content tends toward conservative consensus positions that may lag behind current evidence.

Consumer health websites often rely on advertising, affiliate links, or sponsored content. The business model conflicts with reader interests even when individual articles are accurate.

News media cover health topics based on newsworthiness, which favors dramatic findings over important but boring ones. Advertising pressures also influence coverage.

Each of these sources has legitimate purposes. None is entirely reliable for making personal healthcare decisions. Their business models ensure that. This is one reason we focus on heart disease specifically rather than trying to cover everything.

What This Means for You

You can evaluate BlueRipple Health content without wondering whether hidden incentives shape our recommendations. We have no stake in your decisions beyond helping you make good ones.

This independence does not guarantee accuracy. We can still make mistakes or reach wrong conclusions. But our errors will be honest errors, not distortions driven by financial conflicts.

When reading other health content, consider the business model. Ask who pays for the content and how that payment might influence what gets said. Sources with conflicting incentives may still provide useful information, but they warrant more critical evaluation.

Our Commitment

We commit to maintaining this business model. We will not accept advertising, sponsorships, or affiliate arrangements. We will not blur the line between editorial content and paid promotion.

If our business model ever changes, we will disclose the change clearly. Readers deserve to know what incentives shape the content they consume.

For now and the foreseeable future, our incentives align with yours. We succeed when you become a better-informed healthcare consumer. That’s the only outcome we’re working toward.