Cityblock Health [1], an urban healthcare company building scalable solutions to address the unmet health and social needs of Medicaid and Medicare populations, today announced a USD 20.8 million Series A led by Maverick Ventures [2], with significant investments by Thrive Capital and Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs.
We are told that these investments will be used to deploy Cityblock’s personalized health system — a novel, community-delivered model of integrated primary care, behavioral health, and social services — and to advance development of its custom-built technology platform, Commons.
Leading healthcare and technology investors participated in the round, including a new investment company being formed by past CMS Administrator and former Group Executive Vice President at Optum, Andy Slavitt; CEO of Golden Shore Medical Group and former CEO of Molina Healthcare, Dr. Mario Molina; former CMS Deputy Administrator and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, Dr. Patrick Conway; former CEO of Universal American, Richard Barasch; leading healthcare growth services firm, Oxeon Partners; co-founders of Flatiron Health, Nat Turner and Zach Weinberg; CEO of Clover Health, Vivek Garipalli; co-founder of Rock Health, Halle Tecco; co-founder of Cloudera, Jeff Hammerbacher; and Soraya Darabi of TrailMix Ventures. Several strategic investors, including leading health plans and integrated provider organizations, also participated.
This round brings Cityblock’s total funding to USD 23.2 million after incubation in Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs.
Cityblock leverages Commons to power its novel approach to care delivery, coupled with deep insights into individual needs, investments in the social determinants of health, and cutting-edge payment models to improve health outcomes while significantly reducing avoidable spending on the highest cost individuals in the healthcare system. It provides a crucial solution to ensure that healthcare works for those who need it most. Unlike traditional health systems, the vast majority of Cityblock services are delivered in homes or other non-clinical settings; some in-person, and others digitally. This level of unprecedented access provides communities with an entirely new experience of care that brings together the services and resources they need, where and when they need them most, in a high-touch, convenient package.
Iyah Romm, Cityblock’s CEO, co-founder, and board member said “We started Cityblock with a simple goal: to radically improve the health of urban communities, one block at a time. Despite the boom in venture-backed and technology-based innovations, people on Medicaid and other low-income urban populations have been largely left behind. By combining a data-driven approach to both operations and clinical service delivery, Cityblock has the opportunity to address those needs and unlock value in entirely new ways. We believe that by investing in tools and care approaches that meet people where they are, we can achieve this goal, while also building a business that drives down the spiraling cost of healthcare”.
Ambar Bhattacharyya, Managing Director of Maverick Ventures said “It is a rare opportunity to back a team that not only has real-world experience managing clinical services for high-need, high-cost populations, but also has shipped consumer technology at Google scale,” said “Cityblock’s expertise and passion has led them to develop a novel model to reduce costs and create an exceptional consumer experience that lays the foundation for an enduring, high growth business.”
Cityblock also announced that Andy Slavitt, Vivek Garipalli, and Ambar Bhattacharyya will be joining its board of directors. Jared Weinstein from Thrive Capital will also be joining as board observer.
Dan Doctoroff, Chairman and CEO of Sidewalk Labs and Cityblock board director was quoted as saying “The benefits of new technology must reach everyone who lives in cities, no matter their income level or background. Cityblock embodies this belief — combining innovation with high-quality, integrated care to tackle healthcare disparities that cities around the world are struggling to address. The incredible investor group and board of directors that this team has assembled demonstrates how hungry the world is for new solutions to these challenges.”
With this investment, Cityblock will deploy its first clinical partnerships and expand its team. The company will also continue development of its Commons platform and launch new partnerships with health plans, health systems, and social services providers across the country.
Founded in 2017, Cityblock is a new company with a simple goal: to radically improve the health of urban communities, one block at a time. Cityblock is building a personalized health system that serves qualifying Medicaid or Medicare beneficiaries who live in city neighborhoods that have traditionally gone without sufficient health services. The company partners with community-based organizations, health plans, and clinicians to reconfigure the delivery of fully integrated primary care, behavioral health, and social services by designing, testing, and deploying impactful care delivery models and digital products. Modern technology is at the core of the model, with custom-built tools that revolutionize every facet of care team operations and member interactions.