TULSA, Okla. & DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Zero Card (https://www.thezerocard.com), a data-driven marketplace designed to bypass the current broken, bloated and underperforming U.S. healthcare system, today announced $7 million in new funding led by the George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF) with participation from Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund.
The Zero Card provides an entirely new healthcare delivery model that allows self-funded employers to cut episodic healthcare costs by as much as 50% while simultaneously improving the employee benefits plan by offering plan members access to high-quality, cost-effective care for $0. The marketplace approach allows The Zero Card to match plan members with the right healthcare providers based on cost, quality and convenience. The bundled payment contracts lock in fair market prices that produce substantial savings for both the plan and plan members. The insights derived from The Zero Card process allow employers and healthcare organizations to make efficient, impact-driven, member-focused decisions.
“The participation from the George Kaiser Family Foundation and Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund further validates our model and approach for significantly lowering employer healthcare costs. This funding will allow us to supercharge our efforts to bring a simple, transparent and accessible solution to a market that is in desperate need of a smart alternative. It also allows us to give our employer customers and their plan members a fighting chance when it comes to runaway healthcare costs,” said Jim Millaway, Co-Founder and CEO, The Zero Card.
The Zero Card is a supplemental program that works with existing self-funded health plans and is designed to make it easy for employees and their families to find high-value healthcare providers. Employees can still access care through traditional health plan channels, but when they elect to use The Zero Card, their employer is able to significantly lower costs and employees get access to the care they need for $0.
“The healthcare sector is ripe for a step-change in its operations and delivery because of the intersection of data and technology,” said Anna Mason, Partner at Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund. “The Zero Card team has roots in the economics of health care and they have a deep understanding of the dynamics between self-funded health plans, employers, and employees. We are proud to back another company based outside of Silicon Valley that is disrupting an age-old industry.”
The funds will be used to open new geographic markets, further round out the executive team, scale the engineering & analytics team and grow the sales and customer success teams. As part of the investment, Robert Thomas, Chief Investment Officer of GKFF, will join The Zero Card Board of Directors.
“Our goal is to invest in companies that can make a large impact in a meaningful way. The Zero Card has had early success in using real data to analyze, interpret, and deliver a better healthcare product to its employer customers and their plan members,” said Robert Thomas, Chief Investment Officer of GKFF. “ Watching their early success makes it clear that employers are ready to implement new and innovative solutions to reduce their healthcare costs.”
About The Zero Card
At least 25% of the money we spend on healthcare in the U.S. is wasted. Price alone (especially hospital charges, professional services, drugs, devices and administrative costs), not increased demand or over-utilization, produces over 90% of the cost increases employers see each year. The Zero Card works with mid-market, self-insured employers to help them save up to 50% on their episodic healthcare costs by connecting their plan members with doctors and hospitals in a healthcare marketplace. The really cool part? The Zero Card ensures that every plan member has access to the care they need for $0.
About George Kaiser Family Foundation
The George Kaiser Family Foundation is a philanthropic organization focused on reversing the intergenerational cycle of poverty for children in low-income families and underserved communities by increasing access to high-quality education and healthcare. The foundation has a $4.0B investment portfolio which is globally diversified.
About Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Funds
Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Funds are investment funds and a nationwide platform led by Steve Case and focused on investing in early stage, high growth companies all across the country. The team executes a strategy of partnering with regional ecosystem leaders and co-investors to build and scale the next wave of transformational companies. The Rise of the Rest Seed Funds are headquartered in Washington, DC and part of Revolution’s family of funds including Revolution Growth and Revolution Ventures. Visit us online at revolution.com/rotr or @RiseOfRest.
