HealthSherpa.com, a health insurance enrollment company, has reached a major milestone. Since its founding in 2014, it has enrolled one million Americans in Affordable Care Act (ACA) coverage. As the December 15 deadline for ACA plans draws near, the company now signs up one household every second.
Founder and CEO George Kalogeropoulos said he is proud of his team. He is also grateful to customers for their trust. Reaching the symbolic mark took a lot of hard work, he added, though some good luck helped too. He thanked investors for their support. He also thanked the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for its principled approach to innovation. The company remains committed to helping people find, enroll in and use affordable coverage, he said. Its next target is 10 million.
The technology behind the growth
Much of the growth comes from technology. In January 2014, HealthSherpa invented Single Site, which led to Direct Enrollment Proxy (DEP). Today it is one of just a few companies that CMS has cleared to use DEP. CMS, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is the part of the Department of Health and Human Services that runs Healthcare.gov.
Under DEP, approved companies can take a full Healthcare.gov application on their own websites, much as TurboTax handles tax returns. Because of this, signing up is faster and easier. It also lets tech firms build the last mile to Marketplace coverage. That link matters for eligible groups such as part-time workers, freelancers and early retirees.
What investors say
Kathleen Utecht is managing partner of Core Innovation Capital and sits on the HealthSherpa board. She said she has long admired how the team pairs technology leadership with a deep commitment to access to care. Since so many Americans are financially vulnerable, she noted, it matters more than ever that they can find an affordable plan that fits. In her view, HealthSherpa makes that simple. The milestone, she added, shows that consumers, employers, agents and carriers agree.
Mitch Kapor, a partner at Kapor Capital and founder of Lotus Development Corporation, is also an investor. He said he backed the team because he strongly supports its work enrolling families in affordable coverage. He called affordable access to quality care one of the defining social problems of our time. Still, he said, HealthSherpa is making major progress on it.
HealthSherpa works with large employers, insurers, insurance agencies and agents. Together they help consumers search for, enroll in and use affordable, high-quality coverage. Its backers include Core Innovation Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, Redpoint Ventures and the Kapor Center for Social Impact. Its stated mission is to give every American the comfort and security of health coverage.
