Patientco, a US-based healthcare payment management firm, has raised $3.75m in its series A round co-led by healthcare services provider BlueCross BlueShield’s corporate venturing unit Venture Partners (BCBS).
BCBS is the venture arm of healthcare insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, which provide healthcare coverage for one in three Americans, and is into its second venture fund worth $176m raised in June 2011. BCBS’ first fund, raised in 2008, weighed in at $116m. BCBS has an exclusive relationship with Sandbox, which was the other A round co-lead, to manage a venture fund that invests in healthcare technology. The two firms joined to form healthcare start-up accelerator Healthbox, which gave its first class in January 2012.
Patientco will use the funding to spread their service to a greater number of patients and healthcare providers. The Atlanta-based company offers a service that helps simplifies healthcare bills for patients. The firm says that more than a million Americans already use the service to pay and track their healthcare expenses.
Bird Blitch, chief executive of Patientco, said: “We will apply this strategic financing to enhance our offering and aggressively market Patientco to an expanded network of providers and patients.”
Sandbox managing director Tom Hawes will join Patientco’s board of directors as part of the deal and added: “Patientco’s solution makes healthcare bills easier to understand and pay, helping both patients and healthcare providers. With this investment, Sandbox Industries will work with Patientco to further develop their solution and reach into the marketplace to solve the increasing healthcare payments problem.”