Yuvo Health Raises $7.3 Million to Advance Primary Care for Underserved Populations

NEW YORK, Jan. 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Yuvo Health, a leading technology-enabled administrative and managed-care solution for community health centers, today announced it has closed a $7.3 million seed round of funding. Led by early-stage venture fund AlleyCorp, with participation from institutional investors including AV8 Ventures, New York Ventures, and Brooklyn Bridge Ventures, as well as angel investors such as Dr. Melynda Barnes, Ro's Chief Medical Officer. Yuvo Health will leverage the new financing to expand its downstate New York initial program, develop proprietary technology tools and platform, and strengthen partnerships with Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in the greater New York area and other key markets, nationwide.

"FQHCs care for nearly 30 million patients and have played a critical role in the COVID-19 pandemic response in underserved communities. Yet, as primary care transitions to value-based care, these community health centers are being left behind. Yuvo Health is boldly stepping up to change that," said Dr. Brenton Fargnoli, Managing Partner, AlleyCorp Healthcare Fund, who also joins Yuvo Health's board.

Based in New York City, Yuvo Health launched in early 2021 by a fully BIPOC founding team that has seen firsthand the power of quality care for underserved communities. The startup provides administrative and managed-care contracting services to FQHCs, empowering them to unlock revenue streams via value-based care. By eliminating the daunting investment and operating burden, Yuvo Health allows them to focus on what they do best: provide quality care to communities in need.

"Through NY Ventures, ESD is constantly looking to invest in innovative New York State companies that work to enhance our quality of life and, for this reason, we are excited to partner with Yuvo Health," said Hope Knight, Empire State Development Acting Commissioner and President, and CEO-designate. "By providing administrative and managed-care contracting services for Federally Qualified Health Centers, these FQHCs can continue to focus on what is most important – the health outcomes of our most underserved communities."

Recently, Yuvo Health published its inaugural "How-To Guide" called Value-Based Care for FQHCs: Finding Success and Sustainability in a Rapidly Evolving Financial Environment. Providing an industry-landscape analysis, along with specific challenges and opportunities, the new research explains how value-based care is built upon the idea that lower costs, better outcomes, and more positive experiences are achievable through proactive, preventive care for entire populations. Instead of reimbursing healthcare providers for their volume of services, they receive payments for meeting quality benchmarks and keeping spending below agreed-upon levels.

"We are delighted on many levels to announce this seed investment, but especially because it validates the critical role that primary care providers play in low-income communities, empowering us to offer increased support and access to care where it's needed most," said Cesar Herrera, CEO and co-founder of Yuvo Health. "It's incredibly exciting to partner with industry leaders such as AlleyCorp and New York Ventures who are helping drive health equity and Medicaid innovation, which represents the next frontier for so many untapped opportunities."

In the coming months, Yuvo Heath will be expanding its team to focus on quality analytics and care coordination, as well as broadening its leadership in key areas such as product, engineering, and population-health strategy. Throughout January 2022, Yuvo Health will be hosting informational webinars for FQHCs.

About Yuvo Health:
Founded in New York City, Yuvo Health launched in January 2021 by a fully BIPOC founding team that has seen firsthand the power of quality care for underserved communities. The innovative startup is an industry-leading solution for providing administrative and managed-care contracting services to Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). Institutional investors include AlleyCorp, AV8 Ventures, New York Ventures, and Brooklyn Bridge Ventures, and angel investors such as Melynda Barnes, Ro's Chief Medical Officer. With Yuvo, our nation's FQHCs gain the peace of mind to focus on what they do best: provide quality care to communities in need. Our FQHC partners are able to unlock revenue streams via value-based care without the daunting investment and operating burden. Currently serving the downstate New York market, the company plans to expand across New York, the Midwest, and the Mid-Atlantic regions. To learn more about the company, visit yuvohealth.com, email [email protected], and follow them on LinkedIn.

About AlleyCorp:
Founded by serial entrepreneur Kevin Ryan, AlleyCorp is a New York-based $500M+ evergreen venture fund that founds and invests in companies in New York and across the globe. AlleyCorp's work stretches across three principal categories: first, founding companies (having founded MongoDB, Gilt Groupe, Business Insider, Zola, Nomad Health, and many more); second, as an early-stage investor in technology companies (across pre-seed, seed, and series A); and third, as a limited partner and fund-of-funds (investing in 30+ top funds globally). For more information, please visit www.alleycorp.com.

About New York Ventures:
New York Ventures is the venture capital investment arm of Empire State Development, New York State's chief economic development agency. New York Ventures meets the critical capital needs of the state's innovation economy by providing funding to high-growth startups as they move from concept to commercialization, through early growth and expansion. More information about the fund is available here.

SOURCE Yuvo Health