ConsejoSano Raises $17 Million in Series B Funding To Support Technology-Based Solutions That Help Reduce Health Disparities Among Multicultural Populations
- Led by Magnetic Ventures, the funding enables ConsejoSano to scale its proprietary technology platform to improve engagement, education, and health outcomes among underserved and vulnerable populations
- ConsejoSano's Cultural Determinants Engine is the only two-way communications platform powered by cultural insights to drive engagement that is offered in more than 25 languages
- Health disparities highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic reinforce the need to build trust with communities of color to achieve successful COVID-19 vaccine distribution
Dec 15, 2020, 09:10 ET
NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Dec. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ConsejoSano, Inc., a fast-growing healthcare technology company, which delivers culturally-centric and technology-based solutions designed to close the gap in multicultural patient care, announced the closing of $17 million in a Series B funding round led by Magnetic Ventures. Additional investors include The American Heart Association/Bernard J. Tyson Impact Fund, DaVita Venture Group, Salesforce Ventures, NBA All-Star Victor Oladipo, as well as existing institutional investors 7wireVentures, Impact Engine, Tufts Health Plan, and Wanxiang America. The total raised is $24 million to date.
According to the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, health disparities for racial and ethnic minorities in the United States take on many forms, including higher rates of chronic disease and premature death compared to the rates among whites. The organization states that "racial and ethnic disparities are arguably the most obstinate inequities in health over time."
"While disparities in care among minority populations have always existed, COVID-19 has dramatically, and tragically, brought these disparities to the forefront," said Christine Aylward, Founder & Managing Partner of Magnetic Ventures. "There has never been a more critical time to fix this and to provide more equitable healthcare – we are long overdue. We believe ConsejoSano's unique technology platform, which is powered by a deep understanding of cultural nuances, is the best offering available to build trust, close gaps in care, and improve outcomes for minority patients."
"America is multicultural, but healthcare isn't. We are on a mission to change that. Our underserved communities need and deserve greater engagement and access to healthcare designed and delivered with them in mind," said Abner Mason, Founder, and CEO of ConsejoSano. "I'm grateful to have investors who share our vision to make healthcare work for everyone who calls this country home."
The COVID-19 pandemic has further laid bare the health disparities faced by minority populations. According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID-19 hospitalization rates among Black and Latinx people are both 4.7 times the rate of their white counterparts. Further, there are more than 74 million Americans on Medicaid, 60 percent of whom identify as members of a minority group, and 60 million on Medicare who would benefit from improving their overall preventative care and, in many cases, chronic disease management.
Addressing the Root Issues
ConsejoSano helps payers and providers increase engagement with diverse populations to enhance quality measures and produce better health outcomes. The Cultural Determinants of Health Engine developed by ConsejoSano is the only two-way communications platform that utilizes cultural insights to build patient trust in more than 25 languages including English. The platform improves access to care and achieves greater health equity by engaging patients through their preferred communications approach such as texting, e-mail, telephone, and mail.
In addition to addressing ongoing gaps in care for payers and providers, ConsejoSano's technology platform is currently improving COVID-19 education and awareness among underserved and vulnerable populations nationwide. Given that the current pandemic is three times more deadly for Black, Latinx, and Indigenous people, ConsejoSano is playing a vital role in delivering trusted communications in culturally-fitting and linguistically-familiar formats to diverse populations. During the last several months alone, ConsejoSano's platform enabled more than 50,000 telemedicine appointments for lower-income patients covered by Medicaid and Medicare.
"We're passionate about creating health equity and have deep experience treating a diverse patient population" said Javier Rodriguez, CEO of DaVita. "We are excited to innovate with ConsejoSano to improve the lives of patients in underserved communities."
About ConsejoSano
ConsejoSano is a multicultural patient engagement company that combines a deep understanding of culture with a proprietary technology platform to help health plans and providers engage their members and patients, resulting in measurable improvements in health plan and provider performance. The company utilizes multilingual, multichannel engagement strategies and culturally-relevant messaging to enhance engagement and steer at-risk patients to more effective self-care and utilization of their healthcare benefits.
Launched in 2017, ConsejoSano currently engages 1.5 million patients across 12 states, in 25 different languages, and has amassed more than two million cultural data points. The company's technology-based solution is currently used by four of the top five managed care plans in the country, enabling them to increase patient engagement, improve quality measures such as HEDIS and Star Ratings, and maximize overall health outcomes. ConsejoSano grew nearly 400 percent in annually-recurring revenue from 2019 to 2020 and supported more than a 340 percent increase in two-way interactions between patients and their health plans or providers.
In addition to Mr. Mason and Ms. Aylward, the ConsejoSano Board of Directors is comprised of Dr. Molly Coye, a former Director of Aetna, Inc., a nationally recognized expert on telehealth, and a member of the Biden-Harris Policy Committee, and Robert Garber, a Partner at 7wireVentures, which led the Series A round of financing.
About Magnetic Ventures
Founded by Christine Aylward, Magnetic Ventures is an emerging venture firm focused on early-stage investing at the intersection of life science and technology. With more than 20 years of experience as operators and investors, the Magnetic Ventures team has helped visionary entrepreneurs build foundational platforms and make a lasting positive impact on patient care.
Contact:
Caroline Rebosio
Coyne PR
973-588-2033
[email protected]
SOURCE ConsejoSano
