Aspire Health
Aspire Health is a community-based palliative care company headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. It was co-founded in 2013 by former U.S. Senate Majority Leader and physician Bill Frist and Brad Smith, and provides mainly home- and outpatient-based, non-hospice palliative care to patients with serious illnesses. It was acquired by the health insurer Anthem (now Elevance HealthElevance HealthElevance Health is a health insurance and health services company headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, listed on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker ELV). An independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, it is one of the largest health insurers in the United States by medical membership. The company traces its roots to Blue Cross of Indiana, founded in 1944; it was named Anthem, Inc. when it demutualized and went public in 2001, was called WellPoint, Inc. from 2004 to 2014, then returned to the Anthem name before adopting its current name in June 2022.Open the full entry) in June 2018 and has operated under Anthem’s Carelon Health brand since 2024.
Contents7 sections
Key facts
July 2013Founded in Nashville
Aspire Health was founded in July 2013. Co-founder Brad Smith became chief executive officer; the other co-founder was William (Bill) Frist, a physician and former senator.[1][2][1]
Operating as a group of specialized physician practices, the company provides home- and outpatient-based palliative care to patients facing a serious illness, meaning specialized medical care that addresses symptoms, pain, and stress, with the aim of improving quality of life for patients and their families.[1][3]
May 23, 2018Anthem Announces the Acquisition
On May 23, 2018, the health insurer Anthem announced that it had entered into an agreement to acquire Aspire Health, describing it as the largest non-hospice, community-based palliative care provider in the United States. At the time, Aspire had contracts with more than 20 health plans and served patients in 25 states.[2][2]
Aspire used proprietary predictive clinical and claims-based algorithms to identify seriously ill patients who might benefit from an extra layer of support, then assigned them a care team of physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, social workers, and chaplains responsible for symptom management, patient-family communication, and advance care planning, coordinating with primary, specialty, and in-home care providers, and offering 24/7 support and nurse practitioner home visits.[2][2][2][2]
Financial terms were not disclosed; Anthem expected the transaction to be neutral to earnings in 2018 and accretive from 2019. Brad Smith said that as part of Anthem the company would be able to further scale its model and make home-based advanced illness care available to more patients who need it.[2][2][2]
June 18, 2018Acquisition Completed, Aspire Becomes a Wholly Owned Anthem Subsidiary
On June 18, 2018, Anthem announced the completion of the acquisition. Aspire Health became a wholly owned subsidiary, and its employees joined Anthem’s Diversified Business Group. Anthem CEO Gail K. Boudreaux said the move would let the company serve more consumers in the home and other settings outside the hospital, complementing clinical care businesses such as CareMore and AIM.[3][3][3][3]
Aspire Health subsequently continued to serve customers as one of Anthem’s subsidiary brands. The transaction was also an exit for its investors Oak HC/FTOak HC/FTOak HC/FT is a venture capital and growth equity firm headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, that focuses on healthcare and financial technology. It was spun out in 2014 by the healthcare and fintech team of the venture firm Oak Investment Partners and has invested in companies including VillageMD, Aspire Health, and CareBridge.Open the full entry and Lifeforce Capital.[4][5][6][7]
2024Folded into the Carelon Health Brand
Series C Round Led by Oak HC/FT
The healthcare and fintech investor Oak HC/FT led a $15 million Series C round in Aspire Health, with the funds going to data analytics, IT infrastructure, and expansion into new markets. At the time, the company described itself as the largest home- and outpatient-based palliative care provider in the United States, operating 11 palliative care practices in 16 cities across seven states, with partners including Cigna-HealthSpring, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, Highmark, Humana, and Aetna.[1][1][1][1]
Oak HC/FT managing partner Annie LamontAnnie LamontAnnie Lamont is an American venture capitalist and the co-founder and managing partner of Oak HC/FT, a healthcare and financial technology investment firm. She previously led healthcare and fintech investing at Oak Investment Partners for many years and has invested in companies including athenahealth, One Medical, VillageMD, and CareBridge.Open the full entry joined Aspire Health’s board with the round; the board was chaired by Bill Frist. Lamont said demand for specialized medical care among patients with serious illnesses was growing rapidly in the United States, and that Aspire delivered cost-effective, personalized palliative care.[1][1][1]
When Oak HC/FT closed its second fund in April 2017, Aspire Health was already listed among its portfolio companies.[10]
Founders and Investors
Sources
- Oak HC/FT Leads $15 Million Investment in Aspire Health to Fund Rapid Expansion (opens in a new window)
- Anthem, Inc. to Acquire Aspire Health (opens in a new window)
- Anthem, Inc. Completes Acquisition of Aspire Health (opens in a new window)
- Anthem, Inc. Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 (opens in a new window)
- Portfolio | Oak HC/FT (opens in a new window)
- Annie Lamont | Oak HC/FT (opens in a new window)
- Exits — Lifeforce Capital (opens in a new window)
- Elevance Health, Inc. Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 (opens in a new window)
- Elevance Health, Inc. Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 (opens in a new window)
- Just three years old, Oak HC/FT closes its second fund with $600 million (opens in a new window)
- Aspire Health | Oak HC/FT (opens in a new window)