Healthcare fintech startup PayGround raises $4m to simplify healthcare payments

Healthcare Fintech startup, PayGround, announced the closing of its $4 million Seed Round to strengthen its position of simplifying the way patients pay their healthcare bills. Drew Mercer, CEO of PayGround, co-founded the company in 2018 following two significant health events. Mercer was diagnosed with testicular cancer and, just a few weeks later, his wife gave birth to their third child.

Drew Mercer, CEO, PayGround: "The amount of paper statements we were receiving in the mail on a daily basis was astronomical. On top of the emotional capital of two events; my cancer journey, and welcoming home a new baby, we were required to mail checks, make payments over the phone, and log into multiple patient portals to keep our accounts current. We founded PayGround to simplify how patients pay their healthcare bills and solve those types of unnecessary problems. We are so grateful for this latest funding round. We can now accelerate our go-to-market plan and scale value across patients and providers alike. Stay tuned for some big announcements in the coming weeks as PayGround disrupts the healthcare revenue cycle."

Leading the round was Triventures, a venture capital fund investing in data driven health startups that are poised to reshape the industry by converging the best of health and tech solutions. Netalie Nadivi, General Partner at Triventures says, "PayGround is a great addition to our existing portfolio of digital health companies that are addressing some of the industry's biggest challenges. PayGround's leadership team not only has the vision to solve a real problem in this industry but has demonstrated phenomenal execution to date. In just a year of commercial market presence, PayGround has deployed in over 100 healthcare facilities, generating tangible ROI by improving DSO and collections on bad debt. We could not be more excited to lead this Seed Round and look forward to seeing PayGround continue to execute on its mission."

Healthcare costs in the US continue to soar. According to CMS, in 2019, healthcare spend hit $3.8 trillion and is estimated to exceed $6 trillion by 2028. PayGround tackles this challenge by delivering a win-win value proposition to the market: a seamless, scalable solution that vastly improves provider collections while simultaneously delivering a consumer-centric experience, a must-have in an era characterized by the consumerization of healthcare. Also participating in the round was SixThirty, which invests in early-stage fintech and insurtech enterprise technology companies. 

Joel Brightfield, Principal, SixThirty: "Healthcare payments are fraught with friction, from lack of price transparency to lack of convenience in billing and payments. As anyone who has been to the doctor knows, patients spend copious amounts of time understanding and making payments, and providers spend a disproportionate amount of time managing revenue cycles and collections.  These frictions equate to less time spent preventing and treating disease, needlessly wasting a precious resource in healthcare-time. Drew and the rest of the team at PayGround have felt this pain firsthand and have built a much needed solution."

PayGround will use the funds to execute on its technology roadmap, while growing its brand with an aggressive sales and marketing plan. In addition to the fundraise, PayGround expands its Board of Directors with representatives of the investors and industry expert, Dan Johnson, a healthcare IT leader who previously served as President at Experian Health.

This financing comes on the heels of significant traction in the market thanks to a compelling value proposition where providers have:

• Experienced an average 23% increase in revenue
• Decreased collections turnaround by more than 60%.
• Enjoyed a savings of more than 40% to prior vendor fees

payground.com