Carbon Health scoops up 2 major clinic chains to expand primary care footprint

Carbon Health, a primary care provider combining brick-and-mortar clinics with virtual services, bought two separate clinic chains to expand its national primary care footprint.

The company bought Southern Arizona Urgent Care’s nine clinics in Tucson, Arizona, and Med7 Urgent Care’s four clinics in Sacramento, California, bringing its total to 83 clinics across 12 states.

This acquisition underscores the company's goal of becoming the largest national healthcare provider, fueled by its recent $350 million funding news.

“With COVID-19 cases on the rise and the healthcare inequality gap widening, it’s imperative that we expand our unique care delivery model and technology platform to new regions,” said Eren Bali, co-founder and CEO of Carbon Health, in a statement. “We’re delighted to be working with the Tucson and Sacramento communities to provide a better, more seamless and personalized experience for patients and providers alike.”

RELATED: Carbon Health banks another $350M to become 'largest primary care provider in the U.S.'

The six-year-old provider has raised $522 million to date and has a reported valuation of $3.3 billion following its most recent funding round.

The San Francisco-based startup meets patients across numerous channels to reduce friction and keep them engaged in their care, including in-person clinics, home-based virtual care and consumer health tools. Alongside access points like its chain of retail clinics and pop-up sites, this strategy extends to app-based virtual care and—as of its June acquisition of Steady Health—device-driven chronic disease management.

As part of that model, Carbon Health is focused on expanding its physical footprint through partnering with and acquiring local/regional practices to help them continue to provide high-end care to the community.

The primary care startup’s business has been on an upward trajectory for some time. This past year the company worked to expand its footprint across the country. Carbon Health said that its patient volume has increased 129% since November 2020—and that’s without counting those who turned to the startup’s COVID-19 vaccination or testing services.

RELATED: Carbon Health pushes into home disease management with Steady Health acquisition

Over the course of the pandemic, Carbon Health has doubled its full-time staff from 800 to 1,600 employees, opened over 80 clinics in 12 states and expanded its virtual care services to 23 states, the startup said.

Carbon Health’s proprietary platform is designed to reduce administrative workload—and burnout—for providers by enabling them to focus on care and utilize clinical staff at the top of their license. Carbon Health says it has a 92% offer acceptance rate for clinicians, with half coming in from internal referrals.

While Carbon Health services are currently available to more than three-quarters of those living in the U.S., the company said it’s looking ahead toward a goal line of 1,500 clinics by 2025 “to become the largest primary care provider in the U.S.”