A group of leading healthcare companies provided $50 million in seed funding to Avaneer Health, the data-exchange and blockchain startup announced Thursday.
CVS Health subsidiary Aetna, Anthem, the Cleveland Clinic, Health Care Service Corp., Sentara Healthcare and PNC Financial Services all contributed to the venture and are Avaneer Health's first network participants. These funders represent 80 million covered lives and 14 million annual patient visits.
Avaneer Health, founded in 2020, will use this money to prepare for the launch its network nationwide as a form of secure internet for healthcare, according to the company.
Avaneer Health network participants will have access to what the company describes as streamlined processes for healthcare administration and transactions. This will facilitate access to care, increase consumer loyalty, mitigate physician burnout and reduce operational and technology costs, company executives said in a news release.
"Together, we're changing the paradigm of healthcare data flows with a secure network empowered by blockchain, fast healthcare interoperability resources and other leading technologies," Tim Skeen, co-chair of Avaneer Health's board, said in a news release. Skeen is senior vice president and chief information officer of Sentara Healthcare
Administrative complexity accounts for an estimated $372 billion in healthcare costs each year, according to to the 2020 Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare Index Report. automating common administrative transactions could save $16.3 billion annually, that report says. National health expenditures reached $4.1 trillion in 2020, the Office of the Actuary at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reported last month.
"Addressing administrative costs and creating a positive consumer experience requires connectivity and the type of data fluidity we have come to expect in other industries," Stuart Hanson, founder and CEO of Avaneer Health, said in a news release.
