Austin’s Harbor Health Gets $95.5M to Fuel Growth

Jan. 11, 2024
Startup grew from two to eight locations and launched an ACO REACH product in 2023

Austin, Texas-based Harbor Health, a primary and specialty clinic group co-founded by Clay Johnston, Ph.D., M.D., M.P.H., the  inaugural dean of the University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, has received $95.5 million in a funding round led by General Catalyst. Total investment to date is more than $128 million.

The new funding will allow Harbor Health to continue its growth in providing primary care services, broadening the scope of specialty care offerings, and developing plan designs that support care journeys co-created by consumers and their clinicians, the company said. Texas employers can use these plan designs to lower their costs while incorporating an improved, coordinated care system, Harbor Health added.

The startup grew from two to eight locations with 43 clinicians in 2023, with more planed for 2024. Harbor Health also launched an ACO REACH product in 2023, and secured risk contracts with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas across multiple product lines. The company says it accepts insurance from Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna, Humana, Medicare, Medicaid and is working to become in-network providers for all plans. 

"We have built a geographically dense care model that is organized around integrated practice units and focused on member health conditions,” Johnston said in a statement. “This new investment and our rapid growth confirm our innovative care model is working, and we're meeting more people where they are with collaborative, team-based care.”

Harbor Health’s web site explains that Johnston’s mission is to redesign the health system so doctors and the team working with them truly get to know the people in their care. “The goal is to achieve better health outcomes for people by being more responsive to their needs, which will ultimately reduce wasteful healthcare spending. This new harmonious vision of health empowers people to know all their care options and costs and creates a partnership with medical providers that remains intact all along a person's health journey.”

"There's a strong appetite for a fresh approach to healthcare delivery among employers that prioritizes outcomes, enhances consumer engagement, and is proactive by design," says Chris Bischoff, managing director at General Catalyst, in a statement. "We believe Harbor Health is providing ease of access to the largest covered population in the U.S. and bringing much-needed change as the company seeks to transform value-based care for the commercial sector. This aligns with our Health Assurance thesis.”

In addition to General Catalyst, other investors include Alta Partners, 8VC, Health 2047 Capital Partners, Lemhi Ventures, Martin Ventures and a series of individuals. 

Sponsored Recommendations

Ask the Expert: Is Your Patients' Understanding Putting You at Risk?

Effective health literacy in healthcare is essential for ensuring informed consent, reducing medical malpractice risks, and enhancing patient-provider communication. Unfortunately...

Beyond the Silos: Transforming Coordinated Care Across Healthcare Systems

Coordinated healthcare is vital to delivering a high-quality patient experience, yet it has been difficult to systematize across all healthcare settings. Although it has largely...

The Healthcare Provider's Guide to Accelerating Clinician Onboarding

Improve clinician satisfaction and productivity to enhance patient care

ASK THE EXPERT: ServiceNow’s Erin Smithouser on what C-suite healthcare executives need to know about artificial intelligence

Generative artificial intelligence, also known as GenAI, learns from vast amounts of existing data and large language models to help healthcare organizations improve hospital ...