Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois selects startups for early stage innovation accelerator program

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) has named the first cohort of early-stage start ups to participate in the BCBSIL Innovation Accelerator program. BCBSIL teamed up with MATTER, the Chicago-based global healthcare incubator and corporate innovation accelerator, to identify solutions to influence health care beyond the doctor’s office in the wake of COVID-19.

The pandemic has escalated a growing trend toward care delivery that takes place outside of the traditional office visit. Innovative solutions that help ensure people have access to the care they need, when and where they need it — particularly in alternative sites of care (home, community-based and virtual) —can be helpful tools for managing the value of care delivered in the post-COVID landscape.

“We see the startup community as an essential partner in advancing innovation,” said Steve Hamman, president of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois. “Working with early-stage entrepreneurs to shape their solutions provides BCBSIL unique inputs into how these companies evolve. For our inaugural accelerator cohort, the solutions of a doula network in Alimus, addiction screening in Compris and medication management through Medsense Health offer new value creation through unique approaches to care focused on improving member satisfaction and health outcomes.”

The selected accelerator participants are:

Alimus
Alimus’ mission is to lower overall birth-related health care costs by providing birth doula services to expecting mothers, including prenatal, labor and immediate postnatal support. Alimus’ goal is to reduce adverse birth outcomes and facilitate a healthier and safer pregnancy and birth experience for families.

Compris
Compris introduces the first comprehensive addiction diagnostics and risk-stratification assessment, prevention and treatment guide consistent with a chronic illness paradigm. Patients complete an online, 15- to 30-minute self-report that securely delivers the Compris Profile© to providers within minutes. Compris’ fully automated, HIPAA-compliant, timely needs assessment helps mitigate the ongoing addiction epidemic.

Medsense Health
Medsense Health is a medication management and remote monitoring platform that helps people safely and effectively adhere to their medication regimen using attachable Bluetooth sensors and a mobile application.

As part of the accelerator program, each company will be awarded a payment of $25,000 to help further refine and scale their solution based on pre-defined key performance indicators. Additionally, over the three months, the teams will benefit from curriculum offerings provided by MATTER, BCBSIL mentorship and subject matter expertise from BCBSIL senior leaders.

The accelerator program culminates October 2021 with a public pitch day at MATTER where finalist teams will present an overview of their solution including demos and the value they derived from the Accelerator experience.

“BCBSIL has picked three great companies — each one a promising, early-stage MATTER portfolio company poised to make real change to benefit patients and families,” said Steven Collens, CEO of MATTER. “These innovative new care delivery solutions will help expecting mothers, people battling substance use disorders and seniors or others managing medication schedules.”