Former CMS administrator Andy Slavitt's venture firm closes $115M fund

Can investing in companies that focus on helping vulnerable populations also be lucrative?

The venture capital firm started by former Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt is making that bet and just closed its first venture fund at $115 million.

The group, which Slavitt started with fellow health business veterans Trevor Price and David Whelan in May, is aimed at backing healthcare technology and services companies that impact care delivery for vulnerable populations that don't always benefit from innovation, they said. In particular, the group said, they wanted to target care improvements for Medicare and Medicaid patients—a population that represents more than 120 million people and $1.2 trillion worth of healthcare spending.

Their fundraising outstripped their original goal of $75 million by about 50%. "I think we were surprised by how much this resonated," Price said. 

He declined to name Town Hall's backers, but said they are among the top nonprofit hospital systems, payer groups as well as entrepreneurs. 

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