Medical supplier Better Health has raised $14 million in a strategic funding round backed by CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield’s venture capital arm, Healthworx.
The company hopes to use the funds to expand its payer partnerships and reach more members with chronic disease.
“Through this partnership, we’re able to reach thousands of the payer’s members at once so both the members and the payer can see the impact at scale,” said Naama Stauber Breckler, CEO and co-founder of Better Health, in an email to Fierce Healthcare. “The member gets a great benefit with added value that addresses their different health needs, and the payer gets to see the impact on health outcomes, quality measures and cost of care for a large percentage of their population.”
Better Health gives supplies and support to members with chronic conditions like ostomy, wound care, diabetes, chronic retention and incontinence. The company then offers supply delivery, peer coaching and education as ways to reduce unnecessary emergency room visits.
In the last year, Better Health has partnered with more than 100 health systems and 26 payers. Breckler said new partnerships with managed care organizations for segmented populations will be announced later this year.
Better Health is already the preferred provider of Oscar Health and in-network for Humana, Cigna, Aetna, Molina and various Blues plans. The company operates within 48 states.
Healthworx declined to say whether CareFirst members would have access to Better Health’s services.
“We invested in Better Health to support their work toward bettering access and outcomes for patients dealing with chronic conditions, especially those who rely on durable medical equipment as a part of daily life,” said Christopher George, investment manager at Healthworx.
Outside of CareFirst’s $2.5 million commitment, the University of Miami Health System and Mosaic General Partnership also invested in this round of funding.
Better Health previously brought in $10 million through a series A round and $3.5 million in a seed funding round in 2021, raising the total funding to $27.5 million. Previous funders included Caffeinated Capital, General Catalyst, Table Management and Bill Ackman’s family office.