UPDATED: Thursday, April 10
I suppose it's fitting that a championship matchup between two companies that have dominated our name competition came down to the wire.
Both of our finalists — Lantern and Imagine360 — trounced multiple other firms en route to the final round of this year's #FierceMadness. And it is Lantern that emerges victories by a margin of just three votes.
The polling was so close, in fact, that our voting platform, CrowdSignal, shows each company securing 50% of the vote.
Lantern was added to the bracket as one of many companies submitted by our readers on LinkedIn. And Doug Monkhouse, Lantern's chief legal officer, proved to have the gift of prophecy alongside legal knowhow, posting this simple message three weeks ago: "Lantern wins!"
The company was previously known as Employer Direct Healthcare, and rebranded in September 2024 to Lantern, a name the team said better reflects where the company is headed. CEO John Zutter told Fierce Healthcare's Heather Landi at the time that the new branding was "a little bit cleaner, brighter and more modern."
It also highlighted that the company wasn't looking to work exclusively with employers.
"I think it really represents where we're going," Zutter said.
He added that the name Lantern also alludes to "light," or the company's key corporate values: logic, inclusion, grit, humanity and truth.
And clearly that message was received, as one LinkedIn comment nominating the company called the rebrand a "great switch from confusing name to one that illuminates."
With that, another year of #FierceMadness is on the books. Congratulations to the team at Lantern for this momentous victory and thank you all for voting!
UPDATED: Tuesday, April 8
It all comes down to this.
Our 2025 #FierceMadness competition has reached its championship round, and in just a few short days we will crown the winner of our best company name tournament. Imagine360 and Lantern advance to face off for the title.
Imagine360 took down a tough competitor in BeMe Health by winning 60% of the vote. Lantern defeated Walrus Health by a similar margin, earning 59% of votes. Both of this companies had a strong showing in the Elite Eight round, a likely bellwether of their impending championship face off.
Let's learn a bit more about the companies that have reached our final round, and the story behind the names they've taken on.
Imagine 360 vs. Lantern
Imagine360 is an alternative health plan that seeks to take a different approach to how employers buy health coverage. The name is a play on "reimagine" to reflect how the company is taking a new look at employer-sponsored insurance. The team has been able to reduce costs by 20% in its first year, generating millions of dollars in savings for plan sponsors.
Lantern is a specialty care platform that seeks to connect its members with the services they need. Its solution is built particularly around managing high-cost services, such as surgery, cancer and infusion therapy. Through its partnerships, Lantern serves more than 6 million people and has saved $1 billion in costs. The name alludes to a lantern that lights the way.
So get your votes in now to determine the champion! Polls will close at 4:30 p.m. ET on Thursday. Click here to vote.
UPDATED: Thursday, April 3
Following a Sweet Sixteen that featured multiple tight matchups, the Elite Eight round of #FierceMadness was characterized by a collection of blowouts.
Just one of the four pairings in this round of the bracket was close, with Walrus Health edging out Carrot Fertility by earning 53% of the vote.
Otherwise, Lantern trounced Toothy AI with 80% of the vote, and Imagine360 continues its streak of dominance by taking down Alpaca Health by securing 81% of votes. BeMe Health also advances to the Final Four, winning its matchup with PicnicHealth with 61% of your votes.
The random nature of our bracket means that two strong competitors in Imagine360 and BeMe Health will face off in the Final Four. Lantern has advanced quietly to this point but made a huge splash in the Elite Eight, so we'll see if that trend continues in this latest phase of the competition.
Polls are open for the Final Four, so get your votes in by 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. Click here to submit your votes.
Here's a recap of our Final Four competitors:
Imagine360 vs. BeMe Health
Imagine360 is an alternative health plan for self-funded employers.
BeMe Health is a mobile platform designed to address the mental health of youth and teenagers.
Walrus Health vs. Lantern
Walrus Health is a personal health management platform designed to reduce drug costs and improve outcomes.
Lantern is a specialty care platform that seeks to connect patients with local surgeons, oncologists and other specialists.
UPDATED: Tuesday, April 1
It seems I spoke too soon last week in crowning our front-runners.
Both Sidecar Health and Rippl, which both achieved the largest margin of victory in our opening round of 32 teams, were dispatched in the Sweet Sixteen and will miss the Elite Eight. Sidecar was defeated by BeMe Health in a tight matchup, with BeMe earning 54% of the vote.
Rippl, meanwhile, lost an even closer contest to PicnicHealth, which secured 51% of your votes.
Instead, it seems that Imagine360 has taken up the mantle as the competitor to beat. In the opening round, Imagine360 took down one of the Fierce team's early picks to win it all, securing 70% of the vote to defeat Panda Health. In the Sweet Sixteen, Imagine360 handily defeated Parsley Health with 80% of your votes.
Aside from that complete beatdown, most of the Sweet Sixteen matchups were fairly close. Alpaca Health will advance to the Elite Eight, earning 58% of the vote to defeat Probably Genetic. And its fellow animal name competitor, Walrus Health, will also move forward, beating knownwell with 62% of the vote.
Rounding out our top eight is Carrot Fertility, which beat Tire Swing by securing 61% of the vote; Lantern, which defeated WHOOP by the same margin; and Toothy AI, which won the closest contest of the Sweet Sixteen in earning 51% of your votes to beat Comma.
Is your bracket busted yet? Let us know who you're supporting and why on our socials, and I'll share some of the most creative pitches for who should make the Final Four later this week.
Polls are open now for the Elite Eight, so get your votes in before 4:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 3. Click here to vote!
Here's a look at the matchups for the Elite Eight:
Imagine360 vs. Alpaca Health
Imagine360 is an alternative health plan for self-funded employers.
Alpaca Health is a platform that seeks to empower practices looking to launch applied behavior analysis.
BeMe Health vs. PicnicHealth
BeMe Health is a mobile platform designed to address the mental health of youth and teenagers.
PicnicHealth is an AI-enabled platform that can collect a patient's medical records for them.
Carrot Fertility vs. Walrus Health
Carrot Fertility is provides fertility benefits, making it easier for patients to navigate the fertility journey.
Walrus Health is a personal health management platform designed to reduce drug costs and improve outcomes.
Lantern vs. Toothy AI
Lantern is a specialty care platform that seeks to connect patients with local surgeons, oncologists and other specialists.
Toothy AI is an AI-enabled dental assistant for revenue cycle management.
UPDATED: Thursday, March 27
The opening round of our #FierceMadness tournament is on the books, and in the first round we saw multiple blowouts and a few close matchups, setting the tone for the upcoming competition.
Sidecar Health and Rippl both notched the highest margin of victory, winning 72% of the vote to knock out Lyssn and Commure, respectively.
Imagine360 also soundly defeated Panda Health — an early favorite for the Fierce Healthcare team — by securing 70% of the vote. Alpaca Health made quick work of Mahmee with 67% of your votes, and BeMe health dispatched Elation Health with 66%.
The tightest matchup of the opening round saw Toothy AI just edging out one of our qualifiers, Zus Health, with 51% of the vote. Comma also eked out a win over Availty with 52% of votes.
Panda Health making an early exit pretty clearly rejects my personal theory that the companies with fun, animal-themed names would rise to the top on cuteness factor alone. Alpaca and Walrus Health advanced, however, which means that there may still be some juice behind the concept.
But, I bid adieu to my bracket with this gif of a panda falling out of a tree.
With the recap out of the way, let's get the Sweet Sixteen round going! Polls are open until Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET, so get your votes in now!
You can click here to participate, and here's a look at the matchups in the second round of the competition:
Imagine 360 vs. Parsley Health
Imagine360 is an alternative health plan for self-funded employers.
Parsley Health is a virtual clinic offering tailored programs around nutrition, movement, sleep and stress management.
Alpaca Health vs. Probably Genetic
Alpaca Health is a platform that seeks to empower practices looking to launch applied behavior analysis.
Probably Genetic offers free genetic testing with the goal of identifying rare disease.
BeMe Health vs. SidecarHealth
BeMe Health is a mobile platform designed to address the mental health of youth and teenagers.
Sidecar Health is a startup health insurer offering plans for midsize and large employers.
Rippl vs. PicnicHealth
Rippl offers on-demand specialty dementia care for patients and caregivers through its wraparound care model.
PicnicHealth is an AI-enabled platform that can collect a patient's medical records for them.
Carrot Fertility vs. Tire Swing
Carrot Fertility is provides fertility benefits, making it easier for patients to navigate the fertility journey.
Tire Swing is an AI-backed platform that seeks to make it easier for healthcare organization to manage compliance needs.
Walrus Health vs. knownwell
Walrus Health is a personal health management platform designed to reduce drug costs and improve outcomes.
knownwell is provides inclusive weight management services with evidence-based interventions.
WHOOP vs. Lantern
WHOOP is an advanced fitness and health wearable device that tracks sleep, strain, recovery and more.
Lantern is a specialty care platform that seeks to connect patients with local surgeons, oncologists and other specialists.
Comma vs. Toothy AI
Comma is an integrated period care company that tracks users' cycles and offers organic period products.
Toothy AI is an AI-enabled dental assistant for revenue cycle management.
UPDATED - Tuesday, March 25
It's officially time for our #FierceMadness competition to begin in earnest.
Thanks to your votes, we've finalized our 32-team competition. The This is Sparta Qualifier (yes, I'm sticking with it) confirmed our final three companies: Kyruus Health, Aegis Ventures and Zus Health.
All three matchups in the qualifying round were close. Kyruus Health defeated Holon Health by securing 57% of your votes, and Aegis Ventures topped Elythea by the same 57% margin.
Zus Health squeaked by Omada Health in a tighter competition, earning 53% of the vote.
So with those victories in place, let's see what matchups will determine our Sweet Sixteen. The bracket was randomly seeded for these opening pairings, and we'll dig more into each company's brand identities and naming conventions as we wittle down the list.
Panda Health vs. Imagine360
Panda Health provides hospitals with the insights they need to cut through the noise, connect with peers, and make confident decisions about digital health solutions.
Imagine360 is an alternative health plan for self-funded employers.
Parsley Health vs. Wisp
Parsley Health is a virtual clinic offering tailored programs around nutrition, movement, sleep and stress management.
Wisp is a sexual and reproductive health company focused women, offering multiple products and telehealth services.
Mahmee vs. Alpaca Health
Mahmee is an integrated care delivery solution focused on maternal and infant health.
Alpaca Health is a platform that seeks to empower practices looking to launch applied behavior analysis.
Probably Genetic vs. Osmind
Probably Genetic offers free genetic testing with the goal of identifying rare disease.
Osmind is an electronic health record company seeking to drive the future of behavioral health.
Elation Health vs. BeMe Health
Elation Health has built an electronic health record that is designed for primary care providers.
BeMe Health is a mobile platform designed to address the mental health of youth and teenagers.
Sidecar Health vs. Lyssn
Sidecar Health is a startup health insurer offering plans for midsize and large employers.
Lyssn works to deploy AI-driven insights to improve mental and behavioral health within an ethical model.
Rippl vs. Commure
Rippl offers on-demand specialty dementia care for patients and caregivers through its wraparound care model.
Commure is a FHIR-compliant development platform that health systems, vendors and startups can use to design health tech and software.
PicnicHealth vs. Kyruus Health
PicnicHealth is an AI-enabled platform that can collect a patient's medical records for them.
Kyruus Health is the largest platform for care access, making it easier for its partners to connect patients to the right care.
Carrot Fertility vs. Maribel Health
Carrot Fertility is provides fertility benefits, making it easier for patients to navigate the fertility journey.
Maribel Health partners with health systems to design and build care models for home healthcare.
Lazurite vs. Tire Swing
Lazurite has designed a wireless camera for arthroscope and endoscopy.
Tire Swing is an AI-backed platform that seeks to make it easier for healthcare organization to manage compliance needs.
Walrus Health vs. Diagnostic Robotics
Walrus Health is a personal health management platform designed to reduce drug costs and improve outcomes.
Diagnostic Robotics is a platform that deploys AI for triage and clinical predictions, improving health system efficiency.
knownwell vs. Aegis Ventures
knownwell is provides inclusive weight management services with evidence-based interventions.
Aegis Ventures is a "startup studio" that seeks to partner with entrepreneurs in healthcare to develop, launch and scale companies in digital health and beyond.
WHOOP vs. Personify Health
WHOOP is an advanced fitness and health wearable device that tracks sleep, strain, recovery and more.
Personify Health offers solutions that allow employers to offer greater personalized care for employees.
Lantern vs. Blueberry Pediatrics
Lantern is a specialty care platform that seeks to connect patients with local surgeons, oncologists and other specialists.
Blueberry Pediatrics is an app that offers patients unlimited, around-the-lock virtual pediatric services.
Comma vs. Availty
Comma is an integrated period care company that tracks users' cycles and offers organic period products.
Availty is a large, real-time information network in healthcare offering revenue cycle management services.
Toothy AI vs. Zus Health
Toothy AI is an AI-enabled dental assistant for revenue cycle management.
Zus Health is a health data platform seeking to accelerate interoperability by making key data available at the point of service.
The polls are officially open for the round of 32, so click here to submit your votes. For me, I'm a big fan of the animal names, making for a few easy picks to support in the early rounds. If we do this competition again in the future, is it possible to do an entire bracket of just healthcare companies with animal names? We shall see.
Polls are open until 4 p.m. ET on Thursday. Help us narrow things down to the Sweet Sixteen!
UPDATED - Thursday, March 20
Earlier this week, we asked for help narrowing down the 32 companies to include in our first #FierceMadness competition to crown the best company name in healthcare.
Clearly, this idea resonated with many of you, and we secured a flurry of responses across our social media channels and the submission form. Nearly 60 nominations came through the form, and dozens more were submitted on LinkedIn, X and more.
And the Fierce team had plenty of ideas of our own for the bracket. So, suffice it to say, narrowing things down has proven a bit of a challenge for us. Which is why we're hosting a qualifying play-in round for some of the companies in contention.
We've chosen 29 firms for final inclusion, including companies like BeMe Health and Panda Health, which both secured multiple nominations from our readers. Another submission was Alpaca Health, an early favorite for our team.
Our own contributions include pregnancy care company Mahmee, pronounced like "mommy," and Probably Genetic, an excellent recommendation from staff writer Emma Beavins.
Determining which teams to include in the qualifier was difficult, but a theme among certain companies under consideration emerged: names with their roots in ancient Greek ideas or Greek mythology. So we're pitting these companies against each other to qualify in what I have dubbed the "This is Sparta Qualifier."
I'm still workshopping it, but whether or not I personally am good at naming things is not the question of the hour! We're focusing on six companies in this opening round, so let's meet them.
Holon Health vs. Kyruus Health
Holon Health is a multi-specialty provider that aims to address gaps in care for people with substance use disorder by offering key health evaluations and care plan management through telehealth. By offering varied levels of support to patients, Holon Health seeks to reduce relapse and improve engagement. The name Holon comes from the Greek word "holos," meaning whole," and the suffix "-on," or part. The idea, the company said, is to represent something that is both whole on its own while being part of a larger whole.
Kyruus Health is the largest platform for care access, making it easier for its partners to connect patients to the right care. The word Kyruus is based on the chemistry term of Greek origin "chiral," according to the company, which is an object that cannot be superimposed on its own mirror image. A hand is an example of this, and Kyruus matches patients to the right providers like a left and a right hand meeting.
Elythea vs. Aegis Ventures
Elythea is an outbound AI call center for managed care plans with a focus on maternal health. Its platform is able to detect and prevent pregnancy complications, reducing the risk of preeclampsia and postpartum hemorrhage. While the company doesn't list the origin of its name on its website, looking up Elythea on multiple baby name websites points to it as a variant of the Greek name Alethea, which means "truth" or "verity," inspired by the goddess of truth. It carries a connotation of revealing something, per the Bump.
Aegis Ventures is a "startup studio" that seeks to partner with entrepreneurs in healthcare to develop, launch and scale companies in digital health and beyond. An "aegis" is a shield or breastplate commonly associated with Zeus and Athena in ancient mythology, offering both physical protection and a symbol of majesty and power. It was frequently made from goatskin, and Aegis said that while its own "shield" may not be of the same material, it is aiming to build and support companies that could be the GOAT (greatest of all time).
Omada Health vs. Zus Health
Omada Health is a virtual care platform with a focus on chronic conditions. It leans on personalized coaching and other evidence-based interventions to manage conditions like diabetes, musculoskeletal needs and hypertension. Omada said that the name originates from the Greek word for "team," which highlights its focus on the collaboration between the patients participating in its programs and the peer coaches.
Zus Health is a health data platform seeking to accelerate interoperability by making key data available at the point of service. Zus does so by working through APIs, embedded components and integration in providers' electronic health records. Zus was founded by healthcare entrepreneur Jonathan Bush, who also founded EHR company athenahealth. Zeus is the father of Athena in Greek mythology, which hints at Bush's connection to both companies.
The polls are officially open for our qualifying round, and so get your votes in by 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. From there, we'll kick off the bracket competition in earnest. Click here to submit your votes for the preliminary competition.
LAUNCHED - Tuesday, March 18
Over the past several years, the Fierce Healthcare team has asked our readers to help us crown the biggest power players in the healthcare industry as well as the most overused and flimsy buzzwords you hear in your work.
#FierceMadness is officially back for 2025, and this year we're looking to find the best company name in healthcare. Our colleagues at Fierce Biotech undertook a similar endeavor last year, with reader votes ultimately trimming down a 64-team field to crown Werewolf Therapeutics as the best name in biotech.
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To start, we want to hear feedback from you. Do you work for a company with a unique name that also carries an interesting backstory? Is there an investment target with a name that keeps rattling around in your head?
Let us know what companies we should be sure to include when we unveil our bracket Thursday. We're aiming for 32 teams, but if we get a bunch of creative submissions, growing to 64 or having a play-in round is certainly not off the table.
We're also accepting nominations on social media, so leave us a comment on LinkedIn or send us a tweet at @FierceHealth with your ideas.
We'll accept your nomination submissions through noon on Thursday. Keep an eye out for our bracket reveal later that day!