Ounce, a startup that targets to “bridge the space” between well being and housing, introduced Thursday that it has secured $5.2 million in seed investment. As well as, the corporate introduced its first set of companions: AmeriHealth Caritas D.C. and Nationwide Housing Consider.
Washington, D.C.-based Ounce works with payers and reasonably priced housing houses. It has a staff of group well being staff who paintings inside of reasonably priced housing houses to enhance their citizens. The employees overview citizens for gaps in care and be offering onsite well being clinics and screenings. In addition they assist citizens sign up in public advantages like Medicaid or SNAP. As well as, the employees will direct them to healthcare and social services and products, together with scheduling number one care appointments and serving to them follow for apartment enhance. The Amerihealth Caritas D.C. and Nationwide Housing Consider partnerships convey those services and products to greater than 2,000 citizens of reasonably priced housing throughout 9 houses in D.C.
“The basic downside [is] get admission to and engagement for low-income communities. … Once I take into consideration what drove me to construct Ounce and cope with those issues, I’ve a lifestyles venture motto: to create new issues that make society extra honest,” stated Rachel Munsie, co-founder and CEO of Ounce, in an interview. “I will be able to’t truly recall to mind anything else that’s much less honest than having this damaged provider supply gadget for 90-plus million other folks national and 300,000 people who find themselves on Medicaid in D.C.”
Ounce’s $5.2 million in seed investment used to be co-led through Meridian Boulevard Capital and Flare Capital and integrated participation from Chelsea Clinton’s Metrodora Ventures, Wilshire Lane Capital, Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta and Unite Us Co-founder Taylor Justice.
Meridian Boulevard Capital selected to put money into Ounce as a result of its willpower in addressing social determinants of well being, stated Scott Regulation, normal spouse of Meridian Boulevard Capital.
“Ounce represents a paradigm shift in how we cope with the interconnected demanding situations of well being and housing,” Regulation stated in a observation. “Spotting the profound affect of social drivers of well being on particular person well-being, Ounce’s fashion brilliantly converges healthcare and housing answers. We consider that through making an investment in Ounce, we’re backing a pioneering means that may redefine well being for underserved communities like the ones dwelling in reasonably priced housing.”
With the financing, Ounce plans to enlarge its achieve in Washington D.C. Sooner or later, it additionally targets to paintings in different metropolitan spaces, Munsie stated.
“We’re fascinated about and having a look at towns that may make sense for long term rollouts. … I believe that enormous metropolitan spaces — whether or not that’s Boston, Philadelphia, New York or even West Coast markets like California which are doing truly cutting edge issues from a Medicaid investment viewpoint and coverage viewpoint — were extremely fascinating to us,” she stated.
The investment comes at a time when about 27,000 low-income families in D.C. are dealing with demanding situations with housing. The go back to Medicaid redeterminations is handiest exacerbating the problem. Ounce in the long run targets to enhance this inhabitants and scale its trade to achieve extra other folks, Munsie stated.
Picture credit score: Lolon, Getty Photographs