New funding will be used to scale care model with demonstrated impact on maternal and infant outcomes
NEW YORK, June 20, 2024 — Pomelo Care, a virtual medical practice that improves maternal and newborn health outcomes, announced $46 million in Series B financing led by existing investors First Round Capital and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) Bio + Health. Pomelo will use this funding to accelerate its partnerships with payors across the country to address the root causes of the maternal health crisis.
1 in 10 babies born in the US today start their life in a neonatal intensive care unit. US maternal morbidity and mortality rates are higher than peer countries, and the disparities in outcomes for people of color are unacceptable. Healthcare access continues to worsen, with 1 in 8 births occurring in U.S. counties with limited-to-no access to maternal care. Due to significant gaps in postpartum care, about half of pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. occur after hospital discharge.
The evidence exists for how to identify people at highest risk for complications and which interventions are most effective, but existing data gaps and provider capacity challenges make it extremely difficult to apply these interventions at scale.
Pomelo has developed a care model that addresses these challenges by analyzing claims and health record data to proactively identify individual risk factors and providing virtual pregnancy, postpartum, and infant care to patients nationwide to reduce those risks, dramatically increasing access to high-quality, evidence-based care and improving outcomes.
“It’s rare to come across an opportunity where the incentives between patient, provider and payor are all aligned,” said Josh Kopelman, Partner at First Round Capital and Pomelo board member. “Marta and the Pomelo team have found an incredible opportunity to dramatically improve outcomes for the highest risk populations, while helping payors reduce their avoidable costs.”
Pomelo has achieved significant milestones this year including:
- $46 million in financing: The company today announced $46 million in Series B financing, bringing total funding to $79 million. The Series B was led by existing investors First Round Capital and a16z. Stripes joined this round along with additional participation from existing investors SV Angel, Operator Partners and BoxGroup. They join angels and healthcare industry leaders Adam Boehler, Founder and Managing Partner of Rubicon Founders, Former Director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), and Founder of Landmark Health and Puneet Singh, CEO of CareBridge.
- Covering over 3 million lives: Since the beginning of 2024, Pomelo has grown its covered lives with health plan partners from 2 million to over 3 million, providing care to patients in 46 states.
- Published peer-reviewed data proving improvement in clinical outcomes: Pomelo presented new research at the 2024 ACOG Clinical & Scientific Meeting showing that Pomelo’s telemedicine care dramatically scales critical interventions that reduce the leading causes of maternal morbidity and mortality in a Medicaid population – hypertensive disorders like preeclampsia and mental health conditions. Pomelo’s care model increased rates of evidence-based aspirin prophylaxis by 2.4x, proven to reduce preeclampsia risk by 25%, and mental health screening rates by 7x, proven to reduce perinatal depression risk by 40%. This fall, Pomelo will present data at both the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Global Congress and the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference & Exhibition showing reductions in avoidable emergency room, inpatient, and NICU utilization as a result of Pomelo’s care.
“We’ve long known what works to reduce maternal and infant complications. The questions have always been: can you identify the patients who are at highest risk, can you deeply engage them in care to drive uptake of the prevention strategies we know work, and can you do it in the highest risk populations with the most limited access to care?” said Marta Bralic Kerns, Founder & CEO of Pomelo Care. “This data demonstrates that we absolutely can. And with this additional funding, we’ll have the opportunity to scale our care model to more pregnant people across the country.”
“Pomelo is one among a small set of health tech companies that have earned true scale,” shared Vineeta Agarwala, MD, PhD, General Partner at a16z Bio + Health and Pomelo board member. “This scale is evident in our partnerships with major Medicaid and commercial plans covering over 3 million lives, which create the opportunity to collaborate with OB providers, labor and delivery wards, and NICUs nationwide, while serving hundreds of thousands of expecting mothers and newborns with high quality, technology-enabled care.”
About Pomelo Care
Pomelo Care is a virtual medical practice that addresses underlying risk factors to improve maternal and newborn health, increase access to care and reduce avoidable costs. The company supports its patients from preconception through an infant’s first year with personalized and proactive 24/7 care from a dedicated, multispecialty team. Pomelo works with leading commercial and Medicaid health plans and employers including Penn Medicine, Koch Industries and Elevance Health affiliated plans in Texas, Tennessee, Kentucky and Georgia. Pomelo Care is backed by Andreessen Horowitz, First Round Capital, Stripes, BoxGroup, Operator Partners, SV Angel and Allen & Company LLC. For more information, visit www.pomelocare.com/.
Media Contact:
Sara Crow
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SOURCE Pomelo Care