- Digital health company Wellth announced it has raised $20 million.
Wellth – a digital health company utilizing behavioral economics to empower people to prioritize their health – announced an oversubscribed Series B fundraising round of $20 million. This funding round was led by SignalFire with participation from Frank Williams, Co-Founder and Former CEO of Evolent Health (also joining Wellth as Chairman of the Board), and existing investors The Social Entrepreneurs’ Fund, CD Venture, Yabeo and Partnership Fund for NYC.
Wellth has achieved notable annual growth since its founding in 2014 due to its proven ability to connect with members and engage them more effectively to influence behavior change like taking medications as prescribed. And the new funding round will enable the organization to further invest in the behavioral science engine behind the app and in team expansions to support Wellth’s growing member base.
Many individuals have been struggling with building lasting healthy habits and this takes a costly toll on individuals’ health and the healthcare system, in general. 6 in 10 adults in the U.S. have a chronic disease, which is a leading cause of death and disability and a primary driver of America’s 4.1 trillion annual health costs. A the same time, many patients struggle with medication adherence, which could negatively impact individual health outcomes, and contributes to over $500 billion in avoidable healthcare costs.
Many patient engagement platforms have not been effective in driving patients to make habitual changes to their health regimens. Wellth utilizes the power of behavioral economics with sophisticated machine learning AI to build a custom member experience to motivate the follow-through of healthy behaviors. And 91% of its members interact with the Wellth app every day – which has led to long-term intrinsically-motivated behavior change. So Wellth’s health plan and provider clients have measured drastic cost savings and Medicare Advantage plans have achieved higher Star ratings.
Wellth’s outcomes include
— A 42% average reduction in inpatient utilization
— A 29% average reduction in ED utilization
— A 16% improvement in medication adherence
Instead of inundating patients with standard texts, messages or unused app downloads, Wellth utilizes core principles of behavioral economics such as loss aversion to tap into natural psychological drivers and motivators to drive members to take more positive steps in their health journey. And the patients are tasked to take a simple healthy step: snapping a daily photo of their medications, glucose levels, or other healthy behaviors. Through this daily interaction, behaviors are trained into habits, which leads to lasting change and positive health outcomes.
KEY QUOTES:
“Wellth has solved one of the hardest and most fundamental challenges in healthcare—motivating patients to take action and do what’s best for their health. Wellth’s 91% daily adherence rate amongst its member base is unheard of in the industry.”
— Yuanling Yuan of SignalFire, who leads the firm’s healthcare investment strategy
“At the core, we’re removing barriers and giving patients the motivation to do what’s best for their health. This mission is very personal to me, since I saw my own uncle struggle with behavioral change after a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. After he passed, I set out on a personal quest to understand why humans don’t do what we’re “supposed to do” when it comes to our health. Our Series B funding allows us to continue to understand that crucial question, solving some of the biggest challenges within healthcare and impacting even more patient lives.”
— Matt Loper, Co-Founder and CEO at Wellth
“Wellth is uniquely positioned as the leading behavior change company in healthcare. The team has taken an innovative approach through a data-driven, behavioral economics lens to effectively activate, engage and drive lasting impact for patients struggling to manage their health. This core competency can be applied to drive vastly improved health outcomes and significantly lower medical costs. As a result, the company has driven impressive growth through relationships with the nation’s leading health plan and provider-based organizations. Wellth has a bold vision to truly impact healthcare, and I’m excited to be part of that journey.”
— Frank Williams, Wellth’s Board Chairman
