Bright Health

The company was founded by Bob Sheehy, the former CEO of United Healthcare, with partners Kyle Rolfing, Tom Valdivia and seed investor Flare Capital Partners, upon raising $81.5 million in venture capital in 2016.[3] The company said it would focus on "consumer-centric" technology, facilitating patient experiences through digital interfaces.[4] Bright Health is based in Minneapolis.[5] It first began offering plans in Colorado in a partnership with Centura Health[6][7] after several large insurers announced they would be pulling out of the state.[8]

In 2017, Bright Health acquired the marketing firm Spyder Trap,[9] and its founder became Bright Health's Chief Technology Officer.[10] In June 2017, the company raised an additional $160 million in Series B funding.[11] In September 2017, Forbes included Bright Health on a list of 25 "next billion-dollar startups".[12] The company aligned with Mercy Health, the largest hospital system in Ohio, in July 2018[13] and partnered with Mount Sinai in New York to offer Medicare Advantage plans the next month.[14] Bright Health closed a $200 million Series C financing round in November 2018, bringing the total raised to more than $440 million.[15] It next began offering plans in the State of Arizona, before setting plans to sell in Alabama in 2018,[16][17][18] partnering with Arizona Care Network (an insurer owned by Dignity Health and Abrazo Community Health Network) in Phoenix and Brookwood Baptist Health in Birmingham.[19][18]

In 2019, Bright Health joined America's Health Insurance Plans, a trade association for health insurance companies,[20] and expanded into parts of New York, Ohio, and Tennessee.[21] It also raised an additional $635 million for expansion, bringing the total amount of funding to more than $1 billion.[22] G. Mike Mikan, who formerly held leadership roles at UnitedHealth Group and Best Buy, joined as vice chairman and president in September 2019.[23][24] By December 2019, Bright Health was operating in 22 markets in 12 states.[25]

In January 2020, Bright Health appointed former Target exec Cathy Smith to be the new CFO, replacing Don Powers.[26] That same month, the company announced it would acquire Brand New Day Health Plan, increasing its reach in the Medicare Advantage market.[27] The acquisition also enabled Bright Health to begin offering services in California.[28] Bright Health became Minnesota's first "unicorn" when it reached a valuation of $1 billion.[1] G. Mike Mikan became the company's CEO in April 2020.[29]

In 2020, the company promoted former Periscope CEO Liz Ross to the post of new chief marketing officer.[30] Bright Health raised $500 million in Series E funding in September 2020.[25]

In early 2021, Bright Health announced record membership growth, providing coverage to more than 500,000 consumers.[31] The company also announced another acquisition in California, Central Health Plan of California Inc., further growing the Medicare Advantage business.[32][33]

In April 2022, Bright Health announced it would discontinue offering plans in six states for 2023: Illinois, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah and Virginia. These markets were expected to contribute less than 5% of the company's revenue for 2022.[34]

It began selling health insurance plans in 2017 and Medicare Advantage plans in 2018, in reaction to the Affordable Healthcare Act.[35] Bright Health works with "narrow networks" of specific doctors and hospitals to suppress the cost of healthcare for those enrolled in their program and facilitate coordination of care.[36][37] The company works in cooperation with major health systems in a market to design a network of services around those providers.[38] Bright Health refers to these providers as "care partners".[39] As of April 2021, it operates in more than 50 markets in 13 states and provides virtual and in-person care to more than 220,000 patients.[40] The company also has three technology components: a user interface, a data analytics module, and a platform that works with electronic medical records and telemedicine companies.[19]