Why We Invested In OneImaging
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OneImaging is the nation’s leading comprehensive radiology network, reducing the cost of medical imaging by as much as 80%.
The surge in self-funded healthcare costs has become an increasingly pressing issue with significant implications for employers, large and small, in the United States. Today, employer-sponsored health insurance (ESI) covers nearly half of the population (~163M), and the ballooning healthcare expenses are placing an enormous burden on businesses and individuals. ESI is by far the largest segment of health insurance coverage in the United States, covering workers, their dependents, and retirees. 48.5% of the total population in 2021 had an ESI as their primary health insurance.
The statistics of the 2022 Kaiser Family Foundation Employer Health Benefits Survey underscore the severity of disproportionately rising healthcare costs, specifically for self-funded ESIs. Individual coverage premiums have surged by 58%, and family coverage premiums have risen even more dramatically, increasing by over 63% over the same period. The growth of ESI costs for employers has constantly outpaced inflation and average worker earrings since 1998. On average, employees of large firms contribute to 34% of the cost of themselves, dependents, and family members, and employers pick up the remaining 66%. These figures translate to substantial additional expenses that employers must bear, making health benefits the second-highest bucket of overhead spending for enterprises and employers.
OneImaging is the first-ever price-transparent radiology network, delivering substantial savings to both employers and employees by reducing health plan and out-of-pocket medical imaging costs by up to 80%. OneImaging’s approach allows for significant cost reduction for employers’ total health plan spending. For large employers, radiology accounts for a substantial portion of health plan spending, ranging from 8% to 16%. OneImagings solution translates into substantial savings, potentially amounting to billions of dollars for employers.
OneImaging deploys adhesive attachments on the primary insurance cards to capture imaging orders and referrals directly from the doctors’ front offices, similar to CVS Caremark. Each employee or benefit member is provided with both physical and digital cards, facilitated through a proprietary fintech workflow and product. In cases where a patient forgets their card, they can access a digital version through the app or Apple Wallet, or OneImaging can issue a real-time digital card via text or email.
OneImaging collaborates with over 4,000 US facilities out of a total of approximately 12,000, making 1 in 3 imaging centers in the US compatible with OneImaging. For imaging centers, the value proposition of working with OneImaging is two-fold. Number one, imaging centers are able to market their services to those geographically positioned closest to them with no effort. Number two, imaging centers receive upfront reimbursement from OneImaging and avoid the administrative burden of processing cumbersome insurance claims.
Co-founders Elan Alder and Mert Karabay have combined their unique backgrounds to tackle the radiology spending problem head-on. Elan has spent most of his professional life in radiology, influenced by his family’s legacy of operating radiology services in the Midwest United States. His early exposure led him to be an Outpatient Radiology Manager at the Cleveland Clinic for two years, followed by a tenure at Siemens. During his time at Siemens, Elan led the Mountain West Zone to $40 million in revenue through IDN Enterprise Partnerships and outpatient radiology sales. Mert began his career in marketing with stints at Wonderman Thompson, Haribo, and Rippey.AI, but a growing interest in technology led him to pursue an MS in Information Technology from the University of Denver. Both Elan and Mert are passionate about democratizing access to Radiology services and are advocates of healthcare accessibility, price transparency, and improving medical literacy. We at Redbud VC are inspired by the intersection of Elan and Mert’s deep industry experience, meeting their passion. OneImaging is set to be a category-defining company, delivering imaging cost savings for almost 50% of Americans.
