Mobile app and interactive website GamePlan4Me.com, an initiative created by St. Paul-based tech firm Augeo, promotes the importance of health care insurance—and it has attracted a growing roster of pro athlete endorsements.
 
The program encourages young people to sign up for health insurance and aims to illustrate the risk and danger of living without coverage. It persuades users mainly by connecting with famous athletes who showcase their personal stories—about how they create their own “game plans” for life and why health insurance is so important—through videos on the site.
 
NBA Champion Kobe Bryant is the latest to add his story to the site but before him, GamePlan4Me had already shared the stories of fellow NBA player Jamal Crawford, professional football players like Jermichael Finley and Victor Cruz, Olympic champion Sanya Richards-Ross, professional golfer Michelle Wie, and professional baseball player CC Sabathia, among others.

 
GamePlan4Me bills itself as a non-political, private initiative and collaboration among athletes, sports executives, and industry leaders. Although it’s not associated with the U.S. government, it does provide links that lead users to their local public health care insurance exchange through HealthCare.gov.
 
Augeo founder and CEO David Kristal leads GamePlan4Me, along with entrepreneurs George Pyne and Juan Sabater.
 
Kristal told Twin Cities Business that GamePlan4Me currently brings in no money and is funded entirely by Augeo and its collaborating partners.
 
“As we expand GamePlan4Me into ventures other than health care we hope to monetize the site, not as a major profit generator, but to support the costs of contributing,” Kristal said. “Moving forward, we hope to move beyond health insurance to promote philanthropy of all kinds as well as environmental sustainability.”
 
Augeo specializes in the design and implementation of loyalty programs for a variety of industries and audiences. In addition to GamePlan4Me, the firm helped build the mobile app FamDoo, which allows parents to automate their kids’ allowance systems by rewarding customized chores with a system that translates to cash value. FamDoo is owned and operated by a Minneapolis-based tech startup of the same name.
 
“We are thrilled that more athletes are sharing their personal stories about how having a game plan has been vital in their lives, especially for their careers, health, and wellness,” Kristal said in a statement. “Our hope is to encourage young Americans to learn about and embrace the importance of health care planning and coverage.  Participating athletes sharing their ‘game planning’ anecdotes greatly help us to advance our efforts.”