Take Command – a Dallas-based SaaS platform and leader in the rapidly growing employer-sponsored, personalized health benefits space – recently announced it secured $25 million in growth stage financing led by growth equity investor Edison Partners, with participation from current investors LiveOak Venture Partners and SJF Ventures.
Take Command is considered the first and largest company in the U.S. to offer end-to-end individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements (ICHRAs), an administrative platform, and access to an individual health marketplace. And ICHRAs are a new alternative to traditional group health insurance. In the past, employees have had to enroll in coverage from prescribed, one-size-fits-all insurance plans, paying for benefits they may not need. ICHRAs instead provide employees with a tax-free stipend they can use to select the plan of their choice and provide employers with a way to mitigate or avoid rate increases.
ICHRAs offer employers a savings average of 10-20% in costs while providing employees with unprecedented choice when choosing the right plan for them and their families. And they are compliant with the Affordable Care Act, and their popularity has driven over 10,000 employers to adopt this new benefits model since its inception in 2020, marking 355% growth. With a defined contribution model, the market transformation is often likened to the shift from pension plans to 401(k)s.
Companies offer ICHRAs through Take Command, and many small and medium-sized employers are using this HRA model to advance recruitment and retention in a tight job market and as an onramp to offer benefits for the first time. Plus, large employers (Take Command’s fastest growing segment) are utilizing ICHRAs to mitigate annual renewals, improve minimum participation rates, and upgrade from more expensive one-size-fits-all traditional employer-sponsored coverage.
Take Command will deploy the investment to build out further an infrastructure that pioneered and continues to shape the future of health benefits. And the company will specifically use the new funding to expand its go-to-market strategy, boost payment functionality across its platform, and innovate new marketplace offerings.
KEY QUOTES:
“If you look at those growth statistics, it’s clear American employers are eager to invest in their employees while providing themselves the opportunity to take back control of how they spend their healthcare dollars. Our team is looking forward to partnering with Edison, with its reputation for strong, customized value creation support as Take Command continues to build its capabilities to meet the rising demand for ICHRAs as more companies learn about and adopt them.”
— Jack Hooper, Founder and CEO of Take Command
“As the first-in-market alternative health insurance solution, Take Command is well positioned to capitalize on ICHRA’s meteoric growth. Edison is proud to play a role in helping the company scale into their next phase of growth and further accelerate Take Command’s journey to building the leading health benefits technology company.”
— Edison Partners General Partner Gregg Michaelson, who led the investment and will join the board of directors