Health Tech, Startups

Billing software startup Inbox Health raises $15M 

Medical payments platform Inbox Health raised $15 million in series A funding. The company works with third-party billing companies to better communicate with patients and make bills clearer. 

Billing software startup Inbox Health raised $15 million in series A funding. The startup builds systems to make it easier to reach patients and answer questions about their bill.

The New Haven, Conn.-based startup partners with third-party billing companies. Since it was founded in 2014, it now counts 2,400 practices among its users.

With the funding round, led by early-stage investor Commerce Ventures, Inbox Health plans to build out its platform to reach more billing companies and practices across the U.S.

“The trend is clear that patient out-of-pocket payments are growing every year,” Commerce Ventures Founding Partner Dan Rosen said in a news release. “Meanwhile, the customer experience has remained largely overlooked, which leaves patients feeling overwhelmed and confused about the care they receive and the amount they owe for it. We are excited by Inbox Health’s pioneering approach to solving this problem for providers, billers and patients, as evidenced by the step change improvement in experience and engagement their customers report.”

Inbox Health claims its platform can reduce billing costs, increase patient payments and lead to faster collections. One problem the company is looking to address is the disconnect between clinical notation in EHRs and billing companies’ internal software.

Another major component of its platform is the ability for billing teams to respond to patient questions using HIPAA-compliant text messages, chat and emails.

The startup isn’t the only one using patient engagement tools to improve billing. Cedar, which recently raised $200 million in funding, is also looking to make the process easier for patients.

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