Venture-backed health-insurance startup Bright Health is plotting a major expansion into 5 new states
- Bright Health, the Minneapolis-based health-insurance startup that provides health plans for individuals and families and to seniors has big plans for a major expansion.
- As soon as 2020, the company could newly offer coverage in Illinois, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and Nebraska, according to job listings and insurance filings reviewed by Business Insider. It currently operates in six states.
- Bright Health has raised $441.7 million and has a valuation of $950 million, according to PitchBook.
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Health insurer Bright Health is gearing up for a big expansion.
Founded in 2016, Bright Health provides health plans for individuals under the Affordable Care Act and to seniors in Medicare Advantage. The company has raised $441.7 million and has a valuation of $950 million, according to PitchBook.
The company had made its way into six states as of 2019 and is laying plans to operate in five more as soon as next year, according to job listings and regulatory filings reviewed by Business Insider. The new states are: Illinois, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and Nebraska.
A spokesperson for Minneapolis-based Bright Health declined to comment.
Bright partners with one health system in each market to help set up its insurance plan. For instance, in New York, it's working with Mount Sinai Health System. Bright typically offers these plans to individuals, families, and seniors. The idea is that if Bright can work directly with one health system in a region rather than contract with every health provider there, it can make its members' care better and less expensive.
Bright has said it generated $145 million in revenue in 2018, in line with the company's expectations, on the plans it operated in Colorado, Alabama, and Arizona that year. It expanded into New York, Tennessee and Ohio for 2019. On a net basis, after factoring in risk adjustment payments, its 2018 revenue was $124 million. Bright is expected to file financial results for the first three months of 2019 on Wednesday.
In 2018, Bright spent about 76% of the premiums it took in from members on their medical care, otherwise known as a medical loss ratio. That frees up more of its premium revenue to invest in other aspects of the business.
Bright Health CEO Bob Sheehy said earlier this year that the company anticipated premium revenue to jump to about $400 million in 2019. He said the company enrolled more than 60,000 members for 2019 - more than double 2018's total.
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