Paytient raises $63m to help Americans access and afford healthcare

By Edlyn Cardoza

Paytient, the creator and leading provider of Health Payment Accounts (HPAs), today announced a $40.5 million Series B funding round, bringing the company’s total funding to $63 million. The funds, consisting of $33 million in equity from new and existing investors and $7.5 million in debt from Silicon Valley Bank, will be used to scale growth and product development in 2023 and beyond.

The round was led by Utah-based Mercato Partners Traverse Fund, with participation from Bertelsmann Investments. They were joined by existing investors Lightbank, Felicis Ventures, Box Group, Lachy Groom, Left Lane Capital, Commerce Bank, Crossbeam Ventures, Cultivation Capital, and Inspired Capital, which led Paytient’s Seed and Series A rounds. Mercato Partners Traverse Fund managing director, Joe Kaiser, joins the company’s board of directors, and Thorsten Wirkes of Bertelsmann Investments joins the board as an observer.

Founded in 2018, Paytient partners with thoughtful employers and insurers to empower Americans to more easily pay out-of-pocket healthcare costs that too often feel out of reach. Paytient’s HPAs provide a new source of funds—interest-free credit on a Visa card—and an app that allows cardholders to set up flexible repayment plans that fit their budget.

“Few people plan on getting sick, and even fewer are immune to the financial impact of unexpected out-of-pocket healthcare costs. Over 15 years in hospital administration I saw how challenging this was for patients, providers, and employers,” said Co-Founder & CEO of Paytient, Brian Whorley. “Fundamentally, we believe the healthcare journey deserves its own financial products that enable equitable access to care. Our platform gives patients the power to control when and how they pay medical expenses in a way that’s good for their own wellbeing, and as historic inflation grips the market, this is solving an urgent need for employers and providers, too.”

In partnership with Commerce Bank, the Paytient platform enables employers to provide a low-cost, flexible benefit that creates a better experience around paying for care that supports their strategic workforce objectives.

“As a People First company, we continually look out for new ways of improving the health and well-being of our team. For us, Paytient represented a simple benefit that makes it easier for our team to access the care they need, when they need it,” says Willy Schlacks, Co-Founder and President of EquipmentShare, a leading technology company that adopted Paytient in 2022.

Today, the company has nearly 700 enterprise partners nationwide—including noteworthy carriers and employers such as Centene, Cigna, Coupe Health, Beta Health, and R.R. Donnelley—and serves 700,000 lives on their platform with an average NPS of 90. Since its launch, Paytient members have swiped their cards nearly 400,000 times to pay providers and health systems across the country more easily.

“Working Americans are under more financial stress than ever, and they need a solution that empowers them to access care while taking the stress out of healthcare spending,” said Joe Kaiser, Managing Director at Mercato Partners Traverse Fund. “We are proud to invest in Paytient’s work of providing companies with a benefit that drastically improves their employees’ healthcare experience.”

“Paytient is really a healthcare company built on empathy. Every day we hear from folks who use their Paytient card to help them better access care and manage healthcare spending. We hear from people leaders who pride themselves on giving their employees a more dignified and less stressful way to take care of their families,” said Whorley. “And we get really excited when we hear from sophisticated, self-funded employers who are thinking strategically about how Paytient can not only help their employees pay for care but also buy the best care from the best providers and to make a more efficient market for care that drives down costs.”