Parasail Health Inc. has closed their seed funding round with the support of investors including Peter Thiel and Montage Ventures.
With this funding, Parasail Health will offer consumer loans to help patients finance the cost of their deductibles and other out-of-pocket medical expenses. Offering interest rates typically lower than what a patient could qualify for with a credit card, Parasail is positioning itself as an advocate for patients.
In recent years high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) have grown to over 20% of employer-provided health insurance plans according to Kaiser Family Health Foundation. This number is expected to skyrocket as employers cope with rising premium costs. As the percentage of people with high-deductible insurance has grown, wages have remained stagnant and an increasing number of patients are unable to cover their out-of-pocket expenses.
In a recent Marketplace/Edison Research poll, 58% of respondents reported they would have difficulty coming up with $1000 to pay for an unexpected expense. The burden of collecting these medical bills falls on doctors, who already only collect about half of total amounts billed. Parasail Health offers reasonable financing and effortless collections at a time when the demand for both is growing exponentially.
'One of the most crucial innovations that needs to happen in health care is in its financing. Until now, the resources for patients has not kept pace with the innovation in treatment. We are making that change,' said Parasail Health CEO Adam Tibbs.
With the support of Paypal co-founder and venture capitalist Peter Thiel and previously committed Montage Ventures, Parasail Health is uniquely positioned to address the problem of patients being forced to choose between their health and financial ruin.
'Parasail exists to solve one big problem: people should not be going bankrupt in order to get healthcare,' said investor Phin Upham, who is joining Parasail's board.
About Parasail Health:
Parasail Health helps doctors and patients focus on treatment instead of payment by offering a suite of products that make medical bills affordable for patients and get doctors paid right away. With affordable patient loans, a simple and intuitive application process and clear estimates of out-of-pocket costs, patients are empowered to make the right decisions for their health. They can get needed treatment immediately even if they have high deductibles. Parasail provides doctors with secure and predictable revenues so they can focus on healing by paying them right away with no risk if the patient defaults on their debt. Parasail's mission is to humanize the health care system by putting the needs of doctors and patients first. It's time to focus on what matters.