API platform startup MedPay has raised $1.2 million in seed funding from UK-based Talent Investor Entrepreneur First (EF) and GrowX Ventures.
Established by Arun Bhatia and Ravi Chandra in April 2020, MedPay is an innovation startup that links primary healthcare centers to a cashless OPD insurance organization. MedPay Connected Care Network (CCN) of clinics, pharmacies and diagnostic centers enable healthcare centers to accept insurance payments in real-time and facilitate a cashless claims process for the insured.
The company will use the investment to serve increasing demand, as well as expand its existing item offerings.
Ravi Chandra, Co-organizer and CEO of MedPay said,
“There is an immense requirement for OPD insurance in India. IRDAI, the regulatory body, is encouraging insurers to cover OPD and most insurers are experimenting with a variety of OPD insurance products. We as a disruptor in this space are empowering insurers by giving them access to a large OPD network with a cashless claims facility. Thus, also enabling stand-alone Clinics, Pharmacies and Labs with ability to accept insurance payments without grating.”
Today, MedPay CCN has access to in excess of 50,000 health centers spread across 450 cities covering 4000+ pin codes. The company claims that MedPay’s (API) approach and CCN will address the gap and assist with connecting these pharmacies with other stakeholders thus bringing them into the digital economy.
“MedPay is a really disruptive InsureTech/HealthTech startup. We have seen Fintech unicorns impelled by UPI and the India Stack. MedPay benefits from the same; in addition, as a first mover in this space, it is poised for similar success moved by UHI (Universal Health Interface), the Health Stack and the National Digital Health Mission,” said Venkat Raju, Venture Partner at Entrepreneur First
Numerous players can avail of MedPay Connected Care Network’s API-as-a-Service to offer their services – insurance companies to offer OPD cashless services; corporates and online platforms for hyperlocal care conveyance and so on. MedPay said that it does not rival e-pharmacy companies. In contrast to persistent patients, acute patients generally search for short turnaround time in medicine conveyance that is ideally achieved by a nearby pharmacy. In fact, “e-pharmacy players can also use MedPay APIs to cater to the needs of acute patients.” said Ravi Chandra.
The company said in its statement that during these Covid times, MedPay has developed rapidly by enabling the unorganized OPD segment to transact digitally with customers in their neighborhoods. Stand-alone pharmacies have profited immensely through digital processing of medicine orders during lockdowns. MedPay has processed total OPD transactional payment volume of more than Rs 14 crore.
“One of the critical drivers of low adoption of health insurance in India is lack of an organized and large primary healthcare (PHC) organization. MedPay is leveraging tech to fabricate India’s largest PHC network that toward one side, will allow patients to access and consume services frictionlessly and at the other, allow business and insurers to leverage a reliable, diverse and pan-India organization to acquire new customer segments and significantly lower cost per transaction,” said Manu Rikhye, Partner at GrowX Ventures.
