Insurtech startup hi.health is on a mission to simplify billing and reimbursement in the health insurance space. Based in Vienna, the team has just landed new funding as it plans to develop the product further and expand across new markets.
Whilst having health insurance is often regarded as an efficient way to take care of your health, there’s no doubt that it can have some complications – the main culprit being paying bills. Insurance, in general, is often characterized by high levels of bureaucracy and in the healthcare space, this can hold back patients’ access to care and become a headache for doctors and healthcare companies.
Vienna-based hi.health wants to change that. The startup has developed a digital insurtech solution that simplifies the reimbursement process for insured people. Now, the team has received fresh investment as investors take an interest in this lucrative market.
Funding details
- €6 million raised in a pre-Series A financing round
- Involved participation of existing investors SpeedInvest and Calm/Storm
- New international investors Haymaker Ventures, Fin VC and Nina Capital also got joined the round
Founded in 2018 by Fredrik Debong (ex-mySugr) and Sebastian Gruber, the aim of hi.health is allow people to be reimbursed for medical expenses in a quicker and simpler process. The team has developed an app that offers convenient and safe access to healthcare billing.
Users can easily submit their invoices digitally and hi.health takes care of the further processing, billing, and customer service providing a seamless user experience. With the integrated “library” users receive a transparent overview of relevant digital health products and services that are covered by their insurance.
The startup actually caught our eye in 2021, when we listed it as a Vienna-based startup to watch – and it’s certainly grown from strength to strength since then.
Since the launch of the app in 2019, the company has facilitated reimbursements of more than €50 million.
Sebastian Gruber, co-founder and CEO of hi.health: “The fact that we have already been able to process several hundred thousand submissions for our users after almost three years on the market shows how great the need is for a digital solution for reimbursement for private insurance companies. The fresh capital now gives us the opportunity to further expand our great team and to offer partner companies and users even more digital services from hi.health in the future.”
Further, there has been constant product development and enhancement – for example, purchases made in selected online shops can now be paid for directly via the app. In addition to online pharmacies, online opticians, telemedicine providers and providers of prevention courses have now also integrated the hi.direct system.
Markus Lang, Partner at SpeedInvest: “hi.health has developed a unique solution for the interface between insurtech and fintech and has shown the potential of this market over the past few years. We are therefore looking forward to supporting the great team in the future.”
With this new funding, the team plans to expand its headcount, product and market presence. This is in addition to growing the number of partner companies. Hi.health also wants to offer its service to pharmaceutical companies or providers of doctor software in the future.
Phin Upham, managing partner of Haymaker Ventures: “No insurance is complete without paperwork, but the paperwork doesn’t have to be tedious. With the help of its technology, hi.health is improving the payment process enormously.”
