Digital-First Health Insurer Angle Raises $58M Series A

Angle Health says it has raised $58 million to grow its digital-first health insurance platform.

The company will use the Series A round to expand its platform, which launched in 2021 and covers tens of thousands of patients across the country, Angle said in a Wednesday (Jan. 25) news release.

“Telemedicine, behavioral health, and other digital health solutions — normally sitting outside of the traditional health insurance environment — are core offerings integrated into all Angle Health plans at minimal to no cost for members,” the news release said.

CEO Ty Wang compared what Angle Health does to tools like Google Maps and rideshare apps, “eliminating the need for members to navigate the complexities of the healthcare system on their own.”

The company’s new funding comes as consumers are increasingly turning to digital tools to pay for and manage their healthcare costs.

For example, research by PYMNTS over the last year has seen an uptick in the number of consumers using digital wallets to pay for healthcare.

The rate was at its lowest in March 2022, according to PYMNTS’ “Accessing Healthcare” report. A few months later, the July 2022 edition of “The Connected Economy” saw an increase in the use of digital wallet options.

While Apple Pay use remained flat between the year’s first and second quarters, online use of Google Pay rose 2.9% and Samsung Pay climbed 1.2%. Samsung Pay and Google Pay also saw small gains for in-person payments.

“The rise of mobile wallet use for healthcare-related payments appears on track to continue, as nearly half of surveyed consumers have used the method to pay for at least one of their bills within the previous 12 months,” PYMNTS wrote earlier this month.

“Given this predicted growth, providers may want to prioritize mobile wallets as a payment choice to get ahead of the digital curve.”

There are other benefits for healthcare providers accepting digital wallet payments, such as the possible reduction of employee time spent on legacy efforts such as paper receipts.

Speaking with PYMNTS’ Karen Webster recently, Elmahdi Erraji, who heads product development at JPMorgan Chase’s InstaMed, described the cost-saving benefits of implementing digital processes, especially for the healthcare sector.

“When you add labor shortages, it’s only making the problem worse, [but] when you engage patients digitally, early and often throughout the healthcare visit life cycle, it increases the patient’s likelihood of paying and reduces the burden on the administrative staff,” Erraji said.