A startup-style health plan, Sammy even bets on Uber trips to the doctor to grow

Sami was created by the health entrepreneurs Guilherme Berardo and Vitor Asseituno in 2018. The company is looking for a big market.

According to the National Health Agency (ANS), the total revenue of counterfeit operators was around R $ 200 billion in 2019. However, a survey by Credit Protection Service (SPC Brazil) and the National Federation of Shopkeepers (CNDL) showed that 69.7% of Brazilians were in 2018. They did not have a private, commercial, or individual health plan.

A trained physician, Asseituno worked for American Rock Health startup accelerator and met the criteria that would lead to the creation of Sami. Digital health companies Bright Health and Oscar Health raised $ 1.6 billion and $ 1.5 billion from investors, respectively.

Back in Brazil, Asseituno first created Live Healthcare for health events. The company was sold two years ago to Informa Events Group. The businessman teamed up with Berardo to found Sammy. Berardo worked at investment bank Merrill Lynch. Then he set up a hospital for the elderly next to his uncle, who was a doctor. The project has become the Premium Care chain, with eight long-term clinics today.

Asseituno and Berardo received their first foreign investment for Sami in March 2019. The two funds for Canary and Redpoint events contributed $ 1.3 million to the health startup, accompanied by angels such as Paolo Verras (99), Sergio Ricardo dos Santos (Emile) and Alan Warren (Oscar Health). .

The project began by addressing healthcare providers, implementing a telemedicine service, and using data analysis to filter the best clinicians. The goal was to reduce case development, and reduce the percentage of loss (and costs) for operators. This Minimum Viable Product (MVP) has collected cumulative data from 500,000 people.

However, many operators did not have a culture of meticulous information gathering. The investment of R $ 86 million, obtained in October 2020, was specifically for the creation of Sami’s health operator.

Sami’s growth and strategy

Recruiting can be done entirely online by companies, without the help of middlemen – this method actually accounts for 13% of Sami’s sales.

The startup’s focus is on small CNPJs, with up to 99 lives, and so is more likely to experience a digital purchase. Within six months, HealthTech Collected thousands of lives served in the city of São Paulo.

The adjustment follows the broad consumer price index (IPCA), not the traditional healthcare operator adjustment. The idea is that small businesses do not need to renegotiate and change plans frequently. In January 2021, Procon from Sao Paulo stated that group health insurance companies passed adjustments of up to 228%.

Sami’s cost is between 10% and 20% cheaper compared to the traditional corporate health plan, according to Asseituno.

Every user has a doctor who is responsible for accessing their history, monitoring their health and directing the schedule of consultations with specialists. These professionals will receive user reviews, as well as stars in the urban mobility app Uber.

“People really want a health plan, considering reaching a doctor or hospital an evil thing. Our role is to redefine this perception and create a plan for their health. We seek to promote better and more digital medicine with benefits focused on prevention,” says Asseituno.

Sami has a partnership with the Gimbas gym platform. In January, the startup began a beta program to provide users with free trips through the Uber app. You are Coupons Any Sami user today can request back and forth consultations to meet in person with your established health team.

Teams of doctors, nurses and health coordinators that you set up HealthTech It is located in Beneficência Puerto Rico, in São Paulo city center. They are professionals who focus on first aid and user monitoring.

Users who use this transfer range from patients who simply want to get to know their healthcare team in person to users who have chronic illnesses and need to undergo tests and receive new prescriptions.

Older adults and people with diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure should do this Checks Frequent, but they fear using public transportation and catching Covid-19. Asseituno says poor chronic disease control is another pandemic. “Going by car is a way to be more isolated and safer. For both the person and the health care provider, it makes sense to prevent them from receiving care, worsen the condition at home and then stop at the intensive care unit.”

Sami continues to practice the traditional fee for consultations or services for doctors and partner health institutions (Service fees). But it is studying other monetization models to determine which generates the best incentive for the sector, avoiding the unnecessary occupation of hospital beds.

“The number of procedures does not necessarily translate into quality. All of our contracts require data sharing. We collect information to find out what the experience was like with each doctor and hospital. By measuring quality, we can charge partners to gain more distinction and reward those who provide the best service.” Asseituno says. “Normal health plans do not bother with preventative medicine or underperforming surgery, because the user will look at the size of the adjustment and change plans soon. We are considering staying with the patient for ten years.”

Sami still needs to convince more users of his suggestion – and partnerships with big companies, like Uber, are a way to borrow credibility. “It is difficult to make the decision to buy insurance with a startup, which is traditionally a higher risk company. These partnerships demonstrate the market credibility in us.”

Sami went from 82 to nearly 200 employees in six months. The deal size also doubled in February, March and April. The HealthTech It expects to reach 5,000 to 7,000 businesses served by a start-up-style health plan by the end of 2021.