Kindbody, a company for fertility and family-building care, announced Monday that it secured a $25 million investment from Morgan Health to expand its business and services.
New York City-based Kindbody offers virtual, in-person and home-based care and sells to employers such as Walmart, Lyft and Geico. The company’s services include In-Vitro Fertilization, Egg Freezing, LGBTQ+ family building and gynecology. Morgan Health is part of JPMorgan Chase and is focused on innovating in employer-sponsored healthcare and reducing associated costs.
At ViVE 2024, Panelists Share Prior Authorization Progress and Frustration in Payer Insights Program
At the Payer Insights sessions on Day 1 of ViVE 2024, a panel on prior authorization offered compelling insights from speakers who shared the positive developments in this area after years of mounting frustration. Speakers also shared challenges as they work with providers to figure out how policy developments and technology will work in practice.
The $25 million investment follows Kindbody’s $100 million fundraising round led by Perceptive Advisors, which was announced in March. It brings the company’s total fundraising amount to $315 million. Morgan Health’s managing director, Dr. Cheryl Pegus, will join Kindbody’s board of directors.
Kindbody is in a crowded space when it comes to fertility and family planning care. Other companies providing this kind of treatment include Carrot Fertility, Maven Clinic and Progyny (which like Kindbody was founded by Gina Bartasi). But what sets Kindbody apart from these other companies is that it contracts directly with employers, employs its own doctors and operates its own clinics, Bartasi claimed.
“Our other peers in the industry make a margin, they’re like insurance companies,” Bartasi said in an interview. “Insurance companies sit in between the employer and the doctor and they get paid, usually anywhere from 18% to 22% to make a margin. … The first thing we do is talk to the employer directly and we remove that insurance margin.”
Morgan Health chose to invest in Kindbody for these differentiators.
When Investment Rhymes with Canada
Canada has a proud history of achievement in the areas of science and technology, and the field of biomanufacturing and life sciences is no exception.
“The fact that Kindbody’s clinical model brings the full scope of fertility care ‘in house’ provides a level of differentiation and a real value add for employees looking for comprehensive fertility support and services,” said Dan Mendelson, CEO of Morgan Health, in an email.
With the recent funding, Kindbody will continue to expand in additional markets. The company has 31 clinics across the country and recently opened its Bethesda, Maryland, location. In the next few months, the company will open clinics in Orange County, California; Walnut Creek; California; Philadelphia and Miami.
In addition to expanding to new markets, the company is also growing its services, including menopause treatment, Bartasi said. It will also invest in more male fertility care, as fertility isn’t just a female issue.
“When folks are having trouble conceiving, a third of the time it’s a female factor, a third of the time it’s a male factor and a third of the time it’s both partners,” Bartasi said.
Fertility treatment is becoming more and more important for employers. A Mercer report found that in 2020, 42% of large employers in the U.S. covered IVF treatment and 19% covered egg freezing. In 2015, these stats were 36% and 6%, respectively.
“Our country’s workforce is incredibly diverse, and the reality is that employees and their families contemplate a range of paths to parenthood,” Mendelson said. “Whatever their experience may be, supporting employees in that journey — both through comprehensive health benefits, wellness and behavioral support services — is becoming an increasingly critical and essential benefit.”
Morgan Health has been making a series of investments in companies that support employer-sponsored care, including in primary care company Vera Whole Health, care navigation company Castlight Health, healthcare analytics company Embold Health, self-funded employer health plan Centivo and at-home testing company LetsGetChecked. Looking forward, it plans to focus investments on solutions for cancer, chronic disease, mental health and at-home care, Mendelson said.
Photo credit: Blue Planet Studio, Getty Images
