“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.” – Albert Einstein
It’s the first week of the new year, a time to reflect on the past and plan for the future. As I look back on 2021, I couldn’t be prouder of all that TailorMed has achieved as a team.
Over the past 365 days, we’ve made incredible strides in pursuit of our mission to “move mountains for patients.” Our progress empowers us to dream big and accelerate our efforts in 2022 and beyond.
So, as we open a fresh page in our calendars, let’s take a few minutes to celebrate some of 2021’s biggest milestones and share 2022’s most exciting opportunities:
We secured more than $400 million for patients.
Five years ago, we started TailorMed because we believe that everyone, regardless of their financial circumstances, should have access to the healthcare they need. In 2021, we took important steps toward making this vision a reality by securing nearly $440 million in financial resources for patients. From manufacturer co-pay assistance to foundation grants, this vital funding helped patients afford lifesaving treatments and offset living expenses. In the process, we enabled healthcare organizations to reduce uncompensated care and bad debt. In total, we’ve now secured over $1 billion in patient funding, from over 5,000 programs covering more than 1,000 chronic conditions.
We fueled our growth with $25 million in financing.
We’re committed to finding innovative solutions to remove financial barriers to care, but we cannot do it alone. This year, after completing our third funding round, we were grateful to secure a $25 million investment.
The initial $20 million investment, led by Providence Ventures, included new investors UnityPoint Health Ventures, Almeda Ventures, Bridges Israel and Discount Capital, with participation from existing investors Accelmed, Sanara Ventures, and Triventures. Our extended round of funding, which led to an additional $5 million, included the American Cancer Society’s impact investment fund, BrightEdge, OSF Healthcare’s corporate investment arm, OSF Ventures, and Citi via their Citi Impact Fund.
We’re so thankful to these forward-thinking investors whose support enables us to take our work on behalf of patients, families, and healthcare organizations to new heights.
We joined forces with Vivor, forming the biggest network on the market.
In 2016, I met Ian Manners, CEO of the financial assistance platform Vivor. We immediately connected over our companies’ shared missions. This year, with patients and healthcare organizations facing unprecedented financial pressure, we decided we could do so much more by joining forces. In November, we acquired Vivor and officially welcomed their team into the TailorMed family. Vivor’s headquarters in Portland became TailorMed’s West Coast office. Our companies have now formed the largest network on the market of providers, pharmacies, and life science companies—all tackling the economic burden of care. With our combined reach and expertise, our teams are in the best possible position to move mountains for patients, together.
We forged new, meaningful partnerships with leading healthcare organizations.
From the beginning, we’ve had the privilege of working with incredible healthcare organizations who are truly committed to helping patients afford care. This year, organizations across the U.S.—from the provider, pharmacy, and life science sectors—joined our growing roster of clients. Together with Vivor, our systems are now being used across a combined 900 healthcare facilities … and counting! Our new partners included AllianceRx Walgreens, one of the nation’s largest specialty and home delivery pharmacies. We also got important votes of confidence from valued customers—like Providence, a comprehensive health system operating in seven states—who decided to implement TailorMed in additional regions.
We can’t wait to help these premier organizations connect more patients with vital cost-saving resources.
We more than doubled the size of our team!
A company is only as good as its people—and I couldn’t be more grateful for the commitment and dedication of our team. We started the year with 45 team members and ended with 92! Our new employees include our friends from Vivor, as well as several key additions to our senior management team.
Every staff member, no matter their role, is critical to our success. Know a talented, passionate professional who wants to make a difference and join a dynamic, fast-growing company? Keep an eye on our Careers page for openings.
We were recognized by a global center for healthcare innovation.
For the second year in a row, we were selected as a quarterfinalist for the UCSF Health Award in the Patient Cost Savings category. The UCSF Health Awards recognize the achievements of innovative health tech companies that are dramatically improving healthcare. We were proud to be selected from thousands of submissions as one of the top contenders for this prestigious honor.
These amazing milestones are cause for celebration, but we’re not resting on our laurels. With Americans facing $140 billion in medical debt and healthcare costs expected to continue rising in 2022, we know that patients and healthcare organizations need innovative solutions more than ever.
Here’s how we plan to step up and take our work to the next level:
We’re building a broader—and interconnected—network.
We’re proud to have built the largest network of healthcare organizations tackling financial barriers to care. The economic burden of healthcare is only growing—and no single party can fix the problem alone. Just as it takes a village to solve any major societal challenge, it will take a coordinated effort between providers, pharmacies, foundations, and life science companies to tackle this critical issue. That’s why it’s not enough for us to build out; we must also build from within.
This means not only adding more healthcare organizations to our network but fostering collaborations and partnerships between our clients to overcome the challenges of healthcare affordability. As we continue to expand in 2022 and beyond, our goal is to be the conduit for these important connections, thereby improving financial health across the board. When everyone works together, everyone wins.
We’re developing new and improved solutions.
When we picture this constellation of healthcare systems, pharmacies, and pharmaceutical companies coming together, we continually ask ourselves, “How can we close the gaps?” A commitment to innovation is part of our ethos—and we’re driven to create cutting-edge solutions to reduce friction and increase value for those we serve. With TailorMed’s recent acquisition of Vivor, we’re thrilled to be able to offer Vivor’s Express Enroll feature, which significantly reduces the time required to complete the application process for drug manufacturer co-pay assistance. In 2022, we’ll accelerate the development of new tools to further automate every step of the financial navigation process, realize the full potential of all types of patient assistance, and create bridges within our network. Stay tuned for more news about all that we have in store!
The past year has been challenging for so many, especially when it comes to healthcare affordability. But our 2021 successes give us hope for a brighter future. As we enter 2022, we do so from a place of strength, confidence, and even greater commitment to our mission. Here’s to another year of moving mountains for patients. We’re just getting started.
