Centivo Raises $34M in Series A Funding
Centivo, a new type of self-funded health plan, has raised $34 million in Series A funding. The capital will be deployed to build the company’s technology and infrastructure, develop local partnerships, and support market launch. Bain Capital Ventures led the financing round, with additional investments from F-Prime Capital Partners, Maverick Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Ingleside Investors, Rand Capital (NASDAQ: RAND), Grand Central Tech Ventures, Oxeon Investments, and several individual investors, including industry veterans Jim Foreman, Ken Goulet, and Kevin Hill.
Centivo was founded to bring cost sustainability to employers and affordable, high-quality healthcare to the millions of Americans who struggle to pay their healthcare bills. “After nearly 20 years of ‘consumerism,’ healthcare remains as unaffordable and inefficient as ever,” noted Centivo CEO and co-founder Ashok Subramanian. “Employers are tired of apologizing to their employees for rising costs and diminishing benefits. It is time to turn the page on the failed era of high deductibles and implement a new solution that produces better results for individuals, employers, and providers.”
The Centivo model emphasizes the partnership between individuals and their primary care team as the proper model to coordinate healthcare needs. Centivo’s provider partners are dedicated to improving quality, affordability, and access to care, and to helping individuals more effectively navigate the healthcare system. Members are rewarded for choosing high-value care and adhering to a health action plan and are supported through a state-of-the-art digital app and dedicated concierge team. Centivo serves as a health plan or third-party administrator (TPA) for employers and partners closely with local health plans to enhance their offerings.
“While the healthcare system is broken, excellent providers—physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and more—improve lives and provide high-value care every day in every community in America,” added Subramanian. “Using analytics and emerging technology, Centivo identifies, partners with, and amplifies the work of the best providers and engages them as true partners to deliver great, cost-effective care to patients.”
Subramanian was previously CEO and co-founder of Liazon, an online benefits marketplace company acquired by Willis Towers Watson in 2013. He has assembled a team of industry veterans and innovators to lead Centivo.
“We’re thrilled to lead this investment at a time when we know the market is ready to accept bold changes in healthcare,” said Yumin Choi, managing director at Bain Capital Ventures. “Through a robust technology platform, analytics, and partnerships with key players in each market, Centivo can deliver high-value care that’s far more efficient and cost-effective than current solutions. We’re excited to help Centivo gain momentum with employers as it looks to rapidly scale.” Mr. Choi will join Centivo’s board of directors.
Centivo is launching its product for the 2019 plan year, with an emphasis on employers with employees in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and select other markets.
