MedSolutions and JumpStart Foundry today announced a co-sponsored competition for health care entrepreneurs with a $15,000 cash prize.

The contest — dubbed Innovation Challenge — seeks products and services that help consumers make better decisions about how they use the health care system.

In addition to the $15,000, the winner will get office space at the Entrepreneur Center and $150,000 worth of startup services through Jumpstart Foundry and the Global Accelerator Network. In addition, the winner will receive in-person mentoring from high-profile health care industry entrepreneurs and the opportunity to pitch to over 400 potential investors at Investor Day 2013.

"Our company places a high value on entrepreneurship, and we’re always looking for new, problem-solving innovations, so this is a natural partnership for us,” Gino Tenace, chief strategy officer for Franklin-based MedSolutions, said in a release.

The Innovation Challenge is being held, in part, due to the expected increased demand for products and services connected to key components of the Affordable Care Act of 2010, such as health care exchanges.

Entries must be received by April 12 through an application form at the Jumpstart Foundry website.

In singing the praises of its SmartChoice program, which calls patients with pricing information for imaging services, Cool Springs-based MedSolutions also details a crucial byproduct. Providers who are getting bypassed because they are charging more for the same services are renegotiating their rates. Ah, the disinfectant that is sunshine...

“This program is a natural next step for our company,” said Thorne. “For over a decade, we have been helping health plans ensure that patients get the most appropriate tests to meet their needs, and now, we are equipping those patients with transparent cost and quality information to help them make the best decisions about where to have those tests performed.”

Getahn Ward at The Tennessean has this report today on questions about MedSolutions' denials of certain heart tests for patients in Delaware. MedSolutions' client BlueCross BlueShield of Delaware was "found to have violated state law in its home state by giving the third-party contractor financial incentives to deny doctors’ requests for certain heart tests."

As part of a strategy to "unroll" programs in various U.S. regions, insurance firm Cigna has selected Franklin-based MedSolutions as its nationwide radiology benefits manager. The sizable contract — Cigna is one of the largest for-profit insurance companies in the country — extends the companies' 13-year relationship.

MedSolutions, led by CEO Curt Thorne, has been growing of late. The company secured a new $300 million investment at the end of 2010.