TL;DR
Turn your wind-down time into listening time
- Thousands of audiobooks, podcasts and originals
- Listen on your phone, tablet or Echo — also offline
- Cancel anytime
Kivo Health raised $10 million in a Series A round led by Allumia Ventures, bringing its total financing to $16 million. The Seattle company plans to expand its virtual home-care program for COPD nationwide and says it aims to serve tens of thousands of patients within two years.
Kivo Health, a Seattle-based provider of virtual home care for chronic lung disease, has raised $10 million in Series A financing to support a planned nationwide expansion. The round brings the company’s total financing to $16 million as it seeks to extend its COPD program to more patients and, eventually, other high-cost chronic conditions.
Allumia Ventures led the financing, with participation from Corewell Health Ventures, Y Combinator, Heuristic Capital and MassMutual Ventures, according to Home Health Care News. Kivo says its care model is designed to help people manage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, between clinical visits, with earlier intervention intended to improve symptoms and reduce avoidable hospital care.
Co-founder and CEO Victor Sadauskas told Home Health Care News that Kivo has delivered tens of thousands of sessions and provided access to care for thousands of patients. He said the company plans to expand nationwide and serve tens of thousands of patients over the next two years. Those service and growth figures were provided by the company; the report did not include independent verification.
Kivo’s program combines home-use equipment and virtual respiratory therapy. After enrollment, a patient receives a kit that includes a tablet, an oxygen monitor and exercise bands. The patient meets a respiratory therapist remotely for an assessment and care plan, then joins small-group virtual sessions twice a week for nine weeks. The sessions cover breathing techniques, targeted exercises and resources for managing COPD, according to the company’s website.
Funding Targets Broader COPD Access
The financing gives Kivo additional capital to pursue a wider footprint for a service aimed at people who need support between conventional appointments. For patients and health plans, the company’s model could offer another way to deliver ongoing respiratory care at home, particularly for older adults who may face barriers to frequent in-person visits. Whether it improves access or outcomes at scale will depend on the company’s expansion and on results beyond its own reported experience.
Kivo says its program can reduce total health spending by $8,245 per member per year by limiting hospitalizations, emergency-room visits and nursing-home days. That is a company claim, not an independently established result in the source report. The report does not provide the study design, comparison group, time period or other details needed to evaluate the savings estimate.
The company says its program is covered by Medicare, Medicaid and several major health plans, including UnitedHealthcare, Humana, Blue Cross, Aetna and Priority Health. Coverage may make the service available to more eligible members, but the source does not specify plan-by-plan eligibility, geographic availability or patient costs.
Popular right now
Shark Navigator Lift-Away Upright Vacuum (NV360)
KitchenAid Artisan Series 5-Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer, Dried Rose (KSM150PS)
Ninja Foodi 10-Quart DualZone 6-in-1 Air Fryer, Black, DZ302
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
How Kivo Delivers Home Care
Kivo’s current focus is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a long-term lung condition that can require ongoing management. Rather than limiting contact to scheduled clinic visits, the company’s program provides remote assessments and recurring group sessions with respiratory therapists. The care plan and equipment are intended to support patients in their homes.
The reported nine-week program includes two virtual group sessions each week. Kivo says participants learn breathing techniques, complete exercises and receive guidance on managing the condition. The funding announcement does not detail how many therapists the company employs, how patients are referred or how the program compares with other home-based COPD services.
Beyond expanding its current offering, Kivo says it intends to adapt its model for other high-cost chronic illnesses. The company has not identified those conditions or given a timeline for launching additional programs. Its stated near-term goal is to grow its COPD service nationally.
“We have delivered tens of thousands of sessions, providing thousands of patients access to care that improves symptoms and saves health plans money by reducing unnecessary hospitalizations, ER visits and nursing home days.”
— Victor Sadauskas, Kivo Health co-founder and CEO, in an email to Home Health Care News
Results and Expansion Details Pending
The announcement does not disclose how the $10 million will be allocated, which markets Kivo will enter first or when nationwide availability is expected. It also does not provide the company’s current patient count, the number of states served or a detailed schedule for reaching its two-year target.
Independent evidence for the reported symptom improvements and annual savings estimate is not included in the source report. The basis for the $8,245-per-member figure, including its measurement period and comparison group, remains unclear. Further details are also unavailable on outcomes, patient eligibility, payer reimbursement terms and the planned conditions beyond COPD.
National Rollout and New Conditions
Kivo says it will use the financing to expand its COPD program nationwide, with a stated aim of serving tens of thousands of patients within two years. The company has not announced specific launch dates or locations, so the pace and reach of that rollout remain to be seen.
The company has also said it plans to extend its care model to other high-cost chronic illnesses. No conditions or launch timetable have been named. Further announcements or published results could clarify where Kivo will expand, how it will measure patient outcomes and whether its claimed reductions in health spending are supported by additional data.
Key Questions
How much funding did Kivo Health raise?
Kivo Health raised $10 million in Series A financing. The round brings its reported total financing to $16 million.
Who led the Series A round?
Allumia Ventures led the round. Corewell Health Ventures, Y Combinator, Heuristic Capital and MassMutual Ventures also participated, according to Home Health Care News.
What care does Kivo Health provide?
Kivo provides virtual home care focused on COPD. Its program includes a home kit, a remote assessment with a respiratory therapist and twice-weekly virtual group sessions over nine weeks, according to the company’s website.
What does Kivo plan to do with the funding?
The company says it will use the financing to expand nationwide and aims to serve tens of thousands of patients within two years. It also intends to adapt its model for other high-cost chronic illnesses, though it has not named them.
Are Kivo’s reported savings independently verified?
The source report attributes an estimate of $8,245 in annual savings per member to Kivo. It does not provide an independent study or details about the estimate’s methods, comparison group or measurement period.
Source: homehealthcarenews.com
