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At Homebrew, we’ve made a number of investments in the healthcare industry that are focused on democratizing access to better care or to vital data that can help reduce costs and improve outcomes. As part of our work, we’ve often been pitched by startups that are focused on selling to employers as a means of getting to employee patients. But most of those companies have suffered from the lack of a clear ROI for companies and the inability to generate long term engagement from employees.
That’s why we were so excited when we met the team at Level and heard about the clear and ongoing value they were able to create for companies and employees. Level is working to improve health care by providing employers and employees with more flexible, lower cost and higher quality health care experiences with transparent pricing. As Level announced today, it’s starting with dental benefits, an often ignored but critically important part of health care. We’re elated to join Level on its journey and to have co-led Level’s seed financing along with our friends at First Round Capital.
WHO: When building a modern insurance company, you really need a team that deeply understands insurance, payments and user experiences. Fortunately, Paul Aaron, founder of Level, worked on the core product offerings at Square and Oscar Health. With those experiences in hand, he’s set out to rethink how health care benefits can be delivered, benefiting employers, employees and care providers.
WHAT: Level is an employer-sponsored benefit that allows people to easily find, manage, and pay for care. The company is tackling dental benefits to start because it’s an under-appreciated segment of healthcare that accounts for over $100 billion in US spending each year. Level is the only dental benefit with an app that combines searching for providers, comparing fees, managing benefits, and paying bills. It also aligns incentives with employers through a flat fee for service that doesn’t benefit from unused benefits.
HOW: Level combines simple-to-use technology with a robust health care offering to deliver unprecedented simplicity and efficiency. Its mobile app and web dashboard allow employees to find dentists in their area, and compare options, in or out of network. People can compare prices for services and treatments from dental providers up front, and keep tabs on their remaining benefits to avoid surprises later on. And importantly, members can pay what they owe as soon as they leave the dentist office, with no waiting, insurance estimates, or mail. All of this while saving companies up to 20% on their dental benefits spend. Level helps employers, including those that have historically been too small, transition to self-insurance, which saves them money and enables them to build highly customized plans based on budgets and workforce needs.
WHY: Healthcare in the US represents approximately 18% of the GDP and is the largest industry in the world. Innovation is needed to improve the system from both a cost and outcomes perspective. Most companies have been focused on the medical side of the industry, so Level is creating a new approach for dental, which has largely gone unchanged for the last few decades. In the long term, Level intends to improve all employee benefits, and as a result, all health care delivery and outcomes.
Level is based in New York and already working with a number of leading companies. If you share their passion for dramatically enhancing the health care experience for all, join the already stellar team.