Vera Whole Health has raised $10 million from existing backers to expand its “advanced primary care” model.
The Seattle-based company operates 26 clinics in 10 states, with clients including Seattle Children’s, the City of Kirkland, and Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Kansas City. It works with employers, payers, and health systems with a unique model that provides “health coaching” in addition to traditional primary care.
“Advanced primary care takes what you’ve come to expect from standard fee-for-service healthcare – the long waits, the frustratingly short appointments, the shuffle of specialist visits, the high costs and stress — and turns it upside down, creating a new model with aligned incentives that benefit patients, providers, communities, employers, and insurers while saving money,” the company notes on its website.
Vera has raised $70 million since it was co-founded in 2008 by President and CEO Ryan Schmid. Other co-founders include Patricia Diaz-Kismarton, Joel de Jong and Tom Norwood. Vera currently has about 450 employees, which includes both clinicians and corporate staff.
A SEC filing revealed the new funding. Vera declined to provide details about its investors. Last year Vera announced a partnership with publicly-traded Universal Health Services, which also invested in the company as part of the deal. In 2018, Vera raised a $5 million round.
Schmid co-founded Vera in 2008 when he was an MBA student at Seattle University. He previously worked at a nonprofit called Urban Impact and co-founded community health center Rainier Health and Fitness.
Vera is following COVID-19 guidelines set by the Washington State Health Department and the Centers for Disease Control. The company hosted a COVID-19 webinar on how to stay healthy, cope, and even thrive during a pandemic.
Editor’s note: This story was updated to reflect the structure of Vera’s primary care model.
