The Affordable Care Act put new emphasis on preventing chronic conditions, which account for more than 80% of U.S. healthcare costs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prioritization is one thing, implementation and patient compliance is another.
Newport Beach-based Carepoynt hopes to drive consumer proaction in managing their health through its rewards platform, Rewardsware for Healthcare.
“The business model puts members/consumers in the center and rewards them for health and wellness decisions,” said co-founder and Chief Executive Tim Stanley. The company officially launched its cloud-based platform in September and now has over 9,000 members.
Capital to Scale
Stanley said Carepoynt is raising another round of seed funding of approximately $1 million. He said the company will likely surpass the goal by $500,000 and that if that occurs, it will kick off a seed round targeting $4 million. The announcement will be made this week at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society trade show in Las Vegas.
Investments also include a $1.5 million initial funding led by Tech Coast Angels, HBS Angels, Shepherd Growth Partners Inc. and other private investors. Stanley said he invested about $1 million.
Carepoynt also has an office in Las Vegas. Stanley, who is from Las Vegas where Carepoynt was founded, said the market is ready for its platform [with a] large, evolving population of health-conscious consumers and employers looking for more rewarding healthcare and wellness solutions … including fitness centers, spas and healthy dining options.”
He added the company is expanding “team and office space here in Newport Beach.”
It has about 25 employees.
Buy, Get Paid
Members earn redeemable “poynts”—100 poynts are equal to $1—by making health-related purchases. Consumers can get 1,000 points by signing up for unlimited streaming workout tutorials from Daily Burn or opting for four times the points shopping at CVS or Target. What about spas? Mani-pedis? Botox? Yes, yes, and yes—whether the purchase is healthy food or household supplies or for mental well-being, the company website says, “Earn and redeem rewards for everyday purchases” from its network of partners.
Membership is currently free. So who pays?
“Partners,” Stanley said, naming care providers, insurers, vendors and employers. It has over 300 partners.
Care providers can be rewarded financially by meeting quality and saving targets for a population of patients.
Founders
Stanley is an entrepreneur and angel investor with previous experience in operating roles at companies such as Harrah’s Entertainment, now Caesars Entertainment, and JetBlue Airways. Co-founder Tom Giannulli is a practicing physician and chief medical information officer at Kareo, a cloud-based medical office software and services provider in Irvine.
