Yuvo Health, which supports Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in value-based care arrangements, has raised $20.2 million in its Series A round of financing.
Launched in January 2021, New York-based Yuvo Health says it focuses on addressing the unique needs of FQHCs to help them leverage sustainable payment systems, scalable infrastructure, and partnerships for a meaningful seat at the table within the value-based care ecosystem. One of the stated goals of federal healthcare policymakers is to engage more community health centers in value-based care programs.
In a 2022 interview with Healthcare Innovation, Cesar Herrera, CEO and co-founder of Yuvo Health, said the company contracts directly with health plans such as Medicaid managed care organizations, enabling FQHCs to participate in these contracts, most of which would have been unable to qualify on their own.
“We are a tech-enabled administrative and managed care contracting engine, specifically for Federally Qualified Health Centers, and specifically to support their transition toward value-based care,” he said. “We've been in operation for about a year now, and we've raised about $7.5 million in outside venture capital to enable us to launch our services and support the model, which we have launched in the New York City area, and we now have four pilot FQHC partners.”
At the time, Yuvo had just announced that four FQHCs in New York had joined its independent provider association (IPA): Long Island Select Healthcare, Metro Community Health Centers, Joseph P. Addabbo Family Health Center, and Advantage Care Health Centers. Currently, the company says it serves community health centers and independent physician associations (IPAs) in the Northeast and Midwest, with plans to expand to more markets soon.
Herrera noted that policies at both the state and national levels are moving toward including FQHCs and similar providers into value-based care models. “However, they fail to recognize the lack of infrastructure to support FQHCs in that journey. As a result, FQHCs are several steps back, not through any fault of their own. Our goal at Yuvo is to support the FQHCs from the infrastructure side so that they can get credit for the work they are already doing.”
Last year Healthcare Innovation also spoke to Miriam Vega, Ph.D., CEO of the Joseph P. Addabbo Family Health Center, an FQHC with five clinics in areas of New York City that are vastly underserved. Vega has served as a turnaround specialist at several FQHCs. “I am brought into FQHCs to help turn them around. I was previously in Los Angeles, where they have moved forward with value-based payments at a much faster rate than the East Coast has, so I'm very familiar with this,” she says. “Part of my turnaround plan here is to be part of this value-based payment infrastructure, and I want to be data-driven. That's partly why I'm also very attracted to this new partnership with Yuvo, because it's going to enhance our ability to be data-driven and better pinpoint the needs of our patients.”
She said Addabbo needs assistance in terms of its contract management with the managed care organizations. “We need access to better real-world data. We want to provide whole-person care, and we want to enhance our services — everything from behavioral health to managing chronic diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease, which are very high in our communities,” she said. “Access to this type of infrastructure and allowing us to do better care management and chronic disease management will greatly improve the health of our communities.”
Yuvo’s Series A funding round was led by Mastry Ventures, with participation from previous investors including AlleyCorp, AV8 Ventures, and New York Ventures, and new investors including HLM Venture Partners, Route 66 Ventures, VamosVentures, and Social Innovation Fund.
"Yuvo Health supports FQHCs, which are the only primary-care access point for millions of underserved Americans today. As an ecosystem and infrastructure partner, Yuvo provides FQHCs a technology, operational, and admin platform that unlocks value-based care, reduces medical costs, and increases quality care," said Fatima Husain, co-founder and general partner for Mastry Ventures, in a statement. "We are bullish on the critical role this industry pioneer will play in driving health equity forward,” added Husain, who joins Yuvo Health's board.
