Funds Invest $180M in HealthCare.com
The health insurance distributor plans to use some of the cash to "hire for several key roles."
HealthCare.com has $180 million in new cash and plans to use some of the money to “hire for several key roles.”
The web-based health insurance distributor and product developer raised the cash from a group of investors that was led by Oaktree Capital Management funds.
The Oaktree funds are new to HealthCare.com’s investor list. Companies that have already invested in the company — Axis Capital, Second Alpha and Link Ventures — added more cash. HealthCare.com says its founders also participated in the new round of funding.
Company managers said Monday that they will use the new funding to speed up projects involving data science, product development and engineering, as well as hiring.
The company says one reason that it’s growing is that it has focused on using artificial-intelligence-based systems to promote cross-selling by offering shoppers easy-to-customize, easy-to-purchase bundles of products.
“We aim to create an iterative relationship with the consumer that will span decades, improving lifelong wellness,” Don Loonam, the company’s CEO, said in a comment included in the funding announcement.
HealthCare.com
The current version of HealthCare.com came to life in 2014. Jeff Smedsrud, who was then the company’s CEO, was looking for ways to sell products that might fill in gaps in the new health insurance ecosystem that was being created by the Affordable Care Act.
HealthCare.com had about 210 employees in January. Since then, it has increased the number of employees by 130%, to 370. The company headquarters offices are in both New York and Miami. It also has employees in 15 states and in Guatemala, Thailand and the Netherlands.
Loonam was hired to be the CEO in March of this year. Loonam previously ran Assurance IQ, a health and financial wellness company that was acquired by Prudential Financial in 2019 for $3.5 billion.
The original co-founders — Smedsrud, Jose Vargas and Howard Yeh — are all active in the company, the company says.
Don Loonman (Photo: HealthCare.com)