AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--First Dollar, the health wallet for modern, member-first plans, today announced it has closed a $14M Series A funding round led by Blue Venture Fund, a unique collaboration among Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) companies, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, and Sandbox, to which thirty-five BCBS companies have committed over $890 million across four funds. Blue Venture Fund is joined in the round by existing investors Next Coast Ventures and Meridian Street Capital. Notable angel investors include Zus Health CEO Jonathan Bush, Everly Health CEO Julia Cheek, RPM Ventures Managing Director Marc Weiser, Patientco CTO Sean Joyce, Decent CEO Nick Soman, Firefly Health CEO Fay Rotenberg, and Bright Health Group CTO Brian Gambs.
“Tax-advantaged accounts and supplemental benefits have the power to be transformative for everyday Americans. These programs keep members healthy and getting them right is key to staying competitive in today’s innovative payor landscape. To get there, we need new, software-defined benefits, with data at the core. That’s the role that First Dollar plays,” remarked First Dollar CEO Jason Bornhorst.
First Dollar’s early customers include modern health plans like Sidecar Health, Kind Health, and Decent Health. From HSAs and FSAs to prepaid grocery and Rx programs, First Dollar’s payments infrastructure supports tax-advantaged accounts, supplemental benefits, and whatever you dream up next. With an NPS of 80, and proven account utilization 36% above the industry average, First Dollar is working to build a better way to pay for healthcare.
The Series A investment will fuel the expansion of the First Dollar Health Wallet platform into additional benefit types and further deepen First Dollar’s technology-first advantage, adding to existing APIs, embeddable UX widgets, and best-in-class member workflows to get health plans started fast.
“Paying for care is the main way consumers engage with their health plans. However, the consumer payment experience today requires consumers to navigate a complex web of healthcare benefits, spending accounts, and payment cards. First Dollar’s platform and vision to power a unified health wallet are critical to streamlining how consumers pay for healthcare," said Michael Spadafore, Managing Director at the Blue Venture Fund. “Jason, Colin, and the First Dollar team are crafting a top-tier consumer experience in healthcare payments, while making it easier for health plans, TPAs, and other benefits platforms to administer and support healthcare spending solutions for their members. We are excited to support the team in driving much needed innovation in this market.”
About First Dollar
First Dollar is the health wallet for modern, member-driven plans. We power software-defined benefits that people love to use. From HSAs and FSAs to prepaid grocery and Rx programs, our payments infrastructure supports tax-advantaged accounts, supplemental benefits, and whatever you dream up next.
To learn more, please visit: www.firstdollar.com.
About the Blue Venture Fund
The Blue Venture Fund is a unique collaboration among Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, an association of Blue Cross Blue Shield companies, BCBS companies, and Sandbox to which thirty-five BCBS companies have committed over $890 million across four funds. The Blue Venture Fund invests in promising emerging companies of strategic relevance to BCBS companies and provides the portfolio with access to BCBS companies to deploy innovation at scale. Sandbox is an independent company that provides healthcare-related investment management exclusively for the Blue Venture Fund.
For more information, visit www.blueventurefund.com.