$7.6M to Build the Health Insurance System of the Future

‍‍‍This investment propels us further in our mission: Introduce a transformative model of health insurance to fix the insurance affordability crisis for Americans.

‍In a little less than a year, our scrappy team of builders introduced a new model of health insurance to over 5,000 people resulting in more than $2 million in annual recurring revenue for the company. 

‍We’re at the start of an incredible journey to help millions of people with healthcare portability, while saving billions of dollars for employers and health systems alike. 

Today’s reality: You’re Overpaying for Health Insurance 

The reality today is that we are constrained by an outdated health insurance system that has not kept pace with changes in employment or technology. Seventy-five years ago when our current system was created, employer-sponsored health insurance made sense. The origin stories of Blue Cross, Blue Shield, and Kaiser Permanente are all testaments to how employer-sponsored health insurance lowered financial barriers for families to access health care. 

Today’s reality is different. Employers are no longer able to negotiate the best deal when it comes to health insurance. New healthcare transparency rules that took effect on July 1, 2022, now require hospitals and insurance carriers to publish their pricing data and reveal a startling reality: employers are significantly overpaying for healthcare, and their employees are paying the price. Over the past 20 years, health insurance costs have increased by 215% for a family of four. Consumer medical debt now exceeds $80 billion and is the leading cause of personal bankruptcy. 

Don’t just take my word for it. There are a variety of new price transparency platforms that allow you to look up healthcare price data. Our friends at Billy post daily examples on social media of how employer-sponsored group PPOs are paying as much as 2-3x the price for the **same service** at the **same medical provider** that you can access via an individual plan on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace (aka “Obamacare”) or by just paying cash. 

In 2020, new regulation opened a transformative window of opportunity for change through the creation of the Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement (ICHRA). Instead of a group health plan, employers can provide pre-tax dollars for health insurance. Employees use this money to buy an individual plan on the ACA marketplace and take advantage of these dramatic cost savings. 

Venteur’s value is that we make it easy for companies to set up an ICHRA. But it doesn’t just stop there. The real power of ICHRA though is employee choice and being able to decide what is best for you and for your family. We’ve powered our ICHRA platform with proprietary AI decision-support tools to help employees evaluate their options. Our AI is trained on 30 years of medical claims data and leverages the treasure trove of emerging data in healthcare. Our goal is to build a new health insurance system that is defined by radical transparency where individual consumers have choice, control, and confidence in what they’re buying. 

Year 1 results for our customers 

 Since working with Venteur’s first customers in 2022 to offer an [Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement (ICHRA)] (https://www.venteur.com/post/top-8-ways-ichra-benefits-employees#:~:text=ICHRA%20is%20a%20type%20of,Standard%20or%20Group%20HRAs)for employees’ health insurance, we’ve heard the same story repeated over and over again:

"Venteur saved us from having to do layoffs."

"We were feeling desperate about health insurance costs, until we learned about Venteur."

"We can now afford to give our employees more health insurance coverage thanks to Venteur."

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These affirmations underline a broader, more profound impact. 

Even at our current scale and size, our approach is proving to be a game-changer in the healthcare landscape. We are not just facilitating insurance access for individuals or companies; we're fostering efficiency across the entire healthcare system. 

For instance, one of our newest customers unlocked millions of dollars in annual cost savings by switching to our AI-powered ICHRA model that leverages insights from over 30 years of public healthcare data. It's a testament to how innovation, when aligned with genuine human needs, can lead to both societal benefit and cost savings.

By ensuring personalized and flexible health insurance options, we're reducing administrative redundancies and aligning insurance provisions more closely with people’s needs. 

Today with Venteur, it’s not unrealistic to think that healthcare can be tailored to help people AND be inclusive AND be inexpensive AND save money for businesses.

A personal mission to help families

We were motivated to start Venteur after watching our parents’ 30-year struggle with health insurance costs. And after officially going to market, we’re inspired to see that our solutions are helping people avoid similar situations. 

Families that personalize their healthcare with Venteur can ask questions like “What do I want out of my health insurance?” that will ultimately save them thousands of dollars annually. 

The heartfelt feedback from people using our products has been the bedrock of our motivation. We’ve witnessed the first cases of health insurance portability and a glimpse into a future where each of us gets to keep our health insurance no matter if we change jobs, go freelance, or take time away from work.

It's these stories that keep inspiring us to do more.

Where do we go from here

As we embark on this next chapter, our vision for Venteur is crystal clear. 

Our future goal: Help millions of people get quality health care that’s tailored to their needs, and save billions in insurance-related costs for employers. Our market analysis indicates over 5,000 large employers (with 100 employees or more) that can save $3,000 per employee per year by switching to an ICHRA. Our conservative back-of-the-envelope math is ICHRA will save the American healthcare system at least $500 billion. 

This seed round funding serves as both an endorsement of our past endeavors and fuel for our ambitious plans ahead. 

‍In the near term, we plan to continuously upgrade our ICHRA customer experience for employees, employers, and brokers. We are also making strategic investments in our AI technology. In our first year, we uncovered surprising insights into employee shopping behaviors. We are excited to share these consumer insights with our health insurance partners to bring new health plans to market specifically geared to ICHRA consumers.  

We invite everyone to be part of this transformative journey - whether you're keen to learn more about our ethos, solutions, or our vision for the future, our doors (and website) are always open. 

Stay updated with our progress, stories, and breakthroughs on our blog, social media channels, or by subscribing to our newsletter. And if you're passionate about reshaping the future of health insurance and believe in our mission, consider joining our growing family. We're constantly on the lookout for bright minds and spirited individuals to be part of our team. Applications and inquiries can be directed through our careers page.

Our funding round marks not just a vote of confidence in Venteur but a renewed commitment on our part. We promise to continue pushing boundaries, offering solutions that prioritize individuals, and fostering a future where health insurance is accessible, affordable, and truly personal. 

Here's to the start of an exciting new chapter.