Iora Health, a startup that operates primary care clinics focused on Medicare patients, raised $126 million in a series F round. The new funds are in addition to the more than $220 million Iora has raised to date.
The Boston-based company currently has 48 practices across the U.S., a significant increase from the 24 practices it had in 2018, when it raised $100 million. Iora claims it can reduce patient hospitalizations through its model, where physicians charge a flat fee per patient visit rather than billing for every service provided. The company also gives its patients access to health coaches and has built its own software platform, which it uses to share records and visit information with patients.
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Premji Invest, the billion-dollar investment group created by Wipro Chairman Azim Premji, led the $126 million funding round. The Bangalore-based family office has largely invested in tech companies, though it also participated in insurance startup Devote Health’s most recent funding round.
“At Premji Invest, we see the dire need – and ripe opportunity – for innovation in healthcare,” Dhiraj Malkani, a partner with Premji Invest, said in a news release. “The team at Iora is at the forefront of this transformation. The impact they have already made on the thousands of patients they serve is impressive and we’re most excited about the future development and growth that will lead to making even larger impact on both people and the bottom line.”
Previous investors Flare Capital Partners, Temasek F-Prime Capital, Cox Enterprises, Devonshire Investors, .406 Ventures, Polaris Partners and Khosla Ventures also participated in the round.
Iora Health said in plans to use the new funds to accelerate its growth and add new features to its technology platform, Chirp. The company also plans to certify its platform as Medicare electronic health record system, with new features to generate electronic patient information and share encrypted health information with non-Iora providers.
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Iora Health CEO Dr. Rushika Fernandopulle said the funding round was a testament to Iora’s business model and progress, “and the industry’s — and especially our investors’ — confidence in the future impact Iora will make on the industry and more specifically on all of our patients’ lives.”
A physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, he co-founded the company in 2011.
As Iora Health raises funding, the competition is also heating up. Other companies are taking a closer look at Medicare, including CVS, which hired Iora’s former CMO to head up its walk-in clinics.
But Iora Health also has some significant partners. The company expanded an existing partnership with Humana in September to open 11 new clinics in Arizona, Georgia and Texas. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts also include Iora Health in their networks.
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