Patientco, the leading healthcare expense management solution for patients and healthcare providers, announced the closing of its Series A funding round for $3.75 million led by BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners and Sandbox Industries. Sandbox Industries Managing Director Tom Hawes will join Patientco's Board of Directors.

Patientco simplifies the challenge of understanding healthcare expenses for patients so they pay their healthcare providers faster. Already more than one million patients across 20 states securely receive, pay and track their healthcare expenses via Patientco. Patientco's proprietary technology integrates with physician and hospital information systems to provide a comprehensive communication, payment and reconciliation solution.

"The primary reason healthcare providers don't get paid on time is patients don't understand what they're paying for. Solving this unmet need is why Patientco is in business," explained Patientco CEO Bird Blitch. "We will apply this strategic financing to enhance our offering and aggressively market Patientco to an expanded network of providers and patients."

Sandbox Industries Managing Director Tom Hawes added, "Patientco's solution makes healthcare bills easier to understand and pay, helping both patients and healthcare providers. With this investment, Sandbox Industries will work with Patientco to further develop their solution and reach into the marketplace to solve the increasing healthcare payments problem."

About Patientco
Patientco's suite of proprietary technology tools helps providers communicate more effectively with their patients to give them a better understanding of their healthcare expenses. Patientco's Software as a Service (SaaS) application produces easy-to-understand statements, facilitates direct provider-to-patient communication and offers patients their choice of secure payment options, thereby decreasing provider accounts receivables. Patients can uniquely manage, track and pay their healthcare expenses for all their providers in one location. Patientco's technology ensures that provider systems can easily reconcile patient information securely and accurately into their Electronic Medical Record systems in an efficient and easy way.

About BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners, L.P.
BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners, L.P. is a $295 million corporate venture fund sponsored by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies. The fund invests in promising emerging companies of strategic relevance to Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans. For more information, please visit www.bcbsvp.com..

About Sandbox Industries
Sandbox Industries (www.sandboxindustries.com) is a Chicago-based venture capital firm and startup foundry that builds and grows new businesses internally.