The Opportunity for

Healthcare x Fintech

How technology will make our healthcare system more intuitive, efficient, and cost-effective.

The Problem:

The U.S. is the only high-income country where a substantial portion of the population lacks any form of health insurance.
Source: Commonwealth Fund
Only about 30% of mental health professionals accept insurance.
Source: Forbes
Nearly 4 in 10 Americans put off healthcare in 2022 because of cost.
Source: Gallup
The average insurance deductible for employer health plans with single coverage is more than $1,000.
Source: Commonwealth Fund
Healthcare payers and providers in the U.S. spend about $496 billion on billing and insurance-related costs each year, twice as much as necessary.
Source: The Center for American Progress; The National Academy of Medicine
Medical debt accounts for more than half of all collection debt.
Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
41% of adults have some form of healthcare debt. 1 in 5 don't expect to ever pay it off.
Source: Kaiser Family Foundation
About 50 million patients have had their credit scores negatively impacted by a medical bill.
Source: Commonwealth Fund
Over the past decade, patient financial responsibility for healthcare costs has grown about 50%, reaching nearly $375 billion annually.
Source: Cedar
Half of adults would be unable to pay for an unexpected $1,000 medical bill within 30 days.
Source: Commonwealth Fund
For every $1 of revenue collected by a hospital, 25 cents is spent on administrative tasks required to collect it.
Source: JAMA
Medical debt accounts for more than half of all collection debt.
Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
The U.S. is the only high-income country where a substantial portion of the population lacks any form of health insurance.
Source: Commonwealth Fund
Though Americans account for roughly 4% of the world's population, 40% to 45% of global health spending occurs in the U.S.
Source: World Health Organization
Americans pay two to three times more for prescription drugs than citizens in other developed countries.
Source: The White House

The Mission: 10 healthcare x fintech founders challenging the status quo.

Wanting to take a road trip and being told you have to track down the car parts and build it yourself. Sitting down at a restaurant and realizing everyone’s menu has wildly different prices—and you won’t get your bill for six weeks. Having to buy a single, exact size and style of shoe to fit dozens of people.

Those are just some of the analogies founders used to describe the current state of U.S. healthcare. It’s a confusing, costly, and inefficient system for patients, providers, and payers alike. The builders below are tackling this challenge from all angles: helping clinics get paid faster and more accurately, opening up access to mental health care through insurance, providing patients with the price of their treatment up front, expanding virtual and value-based care, and much more. The key to revamping our broken healthcare system, according to them, is modernizing the financial layer—what one founder calls “the secret sauce.”

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Chris Ellis Cofounder and CEO of Thatch
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Andrew Adams Cofounder and CEO of Headway
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Fay Rotenberg CEO of Firefly Health
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Chris Severn cofounder and CEO of Turquoise Health
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Jimmy Chen Founder and CEO of Propel
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Todd Park Cofounder and executive chairman of Devoted Health
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Jade Chan CTO of Juniper
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Florian Otto Cofounder and CEO of Cedar
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Malinka Walaliyadde Cofounder and CEO of Akasa
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Celina Qi Cofounder of Juniper

The Builders: Companies working at the intersection of healthcare x fintech.

Any investments or portfolio companies mentioned, referred to, or described on this page are not representative of all investments in vehicles managed by CFI and there can be no assurance that the investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future will have similar characteristics or results. Exits include current and former CFI portfolio companies which have been acquired as well as companies which have undergone an initial public offering or direct public offering of shares. Certain publicly traded companies on this list may still be held in CFI Corporation funds. A list of investments made by funds managed by CFI is available here: https://a16z.com/investments/. Excluded from this list are investments for which the issuer has not provided permission for CFI to disclose publicly as well as unannounced investments in publicly traded digital assets. Further, the list of investments is updated monthly and as such may not reflect most recent CFI investments. Past results of CFI Corporation’s investments, pooled investment vehicles, or investment strategies are not necessarily indicative of future results.

Building in this space? Connect with the healthcare x fintech investing team.

Julie Yoo Investing
David Haber Investing
Daisy Wolf Investing
Marc Andrusko Investing
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