The global pandemic has exposed inefficiencies and inconsistencies in health systems around the world. Even co-founders Mayank Banerjee, Matilde Giglio and Alessandro Ialongo say this is nowhere more evident than in India, especially after the death toll hit 4 million this week.
The Bangalore-based company received Nithin in a Khosla Ventures-led round involving the Founders Fund, Lachy Groom and a group of individuals including Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora, CRED CEO Kunal Shah, Zerodha Founder Kamath and DST Global partner Tom Stafford.
Even a member health care company wants to cover what most insurance companies in the country can’t, including access to a family doctor as easy and accessible as other countries.
Banerjee grew up in India and said the country was similar to the United States in that it had state and private hospitals. The difference between the two is that private health insurance is a relatively new concept for India, he told TechCrunch. He estimates that less than 5% of people have such insurance, and although people pay for the insurance, it mostly covers accidents and emergencies.
This means that routine consultations, tests, and scans outside of primary care are not covered. And the policies are so confusing that a lot of people don’t realize they aren’t insured until it’s too late. That has resulted in people asking doctors to hospitalize them to cover their bills, Ialongo added.
Banerjee and Giglio ran another startup together when they realized how complicated health insurance policies are. About 50 million Indians fall below the poverty line each year, and many can no longer pay their health bills, Banerjee said.
They started researching the insurance industry and talking to hospital managers about claims. They found that one of the biggest problems was the misalignment of incentives – hospitals overwhelmed and treated patients. Instead, Even follows a similar approach to Kaiser Permanente in that the company acts as a service provider and can thus reduce maintenance costs.
It was even put into operation in February and launched in June. It is preparing to launch in the fourth quarter of this year with more than 5,000 people on the waiting list so far. The health membership product costs around $ 200 per year for an individual aged 18 to 35 and covers everything: unlimited GP consultations, diagnostics, and scans. Membership will also follow the person as they age, Ialongo said.
The founders intend to use the new funding to expand their operational team, product and integration with hospitals. They already work with 100 hospitals and have partnered with Narayana Hospital to deliver more than 2,000 COVID vaccinations so far, and more in a second round.
“It will take a while to scale up,” said Banerjee. “For us, in theory, if we get better prices, we end up being cheaper than others. Our goal is to cover the people the government can’t and to find ways to reduce the statistics. “
source https://livehealthynews.com/khosla-ventures-leads-evens-5m-seed-to-give-india-the-kind-of-healthcare-their-insurance-doesnt-techcrunch/
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