Nobody ever said launching a health insurance company would be cheap but Oscar has been on what seems like a perpetual fundraising effort ever since it got started in 2012. As Forbes reported, the company’s most recent addition to its backers is Fidelity, which led a $400 million funding round to support the company’s ambitions to grow its member base. That gives the insurance startup a dizzying $2.7 billion valuation following Google Capital’s investment last year.
Oscar has grown its members to 145,000 across four states (New York, New Jersey, Texas and California) by shifting its strategy to narrower networks and integrated health systems such as Tenet Healthcare in Texas and Providence Health in California, according to Bloomberg. In New York, it trimmed its network down to 40,000 health providers and more than 70 hospitals, including those affiliated with New York University and Mount Sinai Health System, but New York-Presbyterian-affiliated hospitals and New York Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn are out.
The insurance company’s vision is to harness technology to make healthcare more accessible and affordable. It enlists Teladoc for its free telemedicine service and provides free fitness trackers from Misfit, free checkups, and cash incentives for getting a flu shot. The consumerization of healthcare is something larger payers aspire to, but for most of them it is very much a work in progress.
With the Rise of AI, What IP Disputes in Healthcare Are Likely to Emerge?
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The company wants to have 1 million customers in five years. Josh Kushner, a co- founder told Forbes: “Initially we wanted to fix the consumer experience in health insurance and make it more transparent and easy to understand…Over time we’ve learned that doesn’t only include the front-facing tech product.”
