AffordPlan raises USD 10mn to enhance healthcare affordability

AffordPlan has partnered with more than 300 hospitals in the country to make non-emergency procedures affordable and has already reached more than 100,000 patients.

In the next 12-18 months, the startup will focus on building a full stack of financial services products for healthcare and deepening its corresponding distribution and supply chain capabilities.

With its savings-led product, AffordPlan offers a financial alternative that empowers hospitals and diagnostic centers to improve access and affordability of medical services for its patients. The Fintech startup allows for planned savings that are ideal for non-emergency medical and expensive procedures such as pregnancy, eye care, dental, plastic surgeries, orthopedic, bariatric, and more.

AffordPlan enables hospitals to provide a tailored solution for patients to plan, save, and pay for their upcoming medical procedures. It also provides visibility of future cash flows and enables them to deliver the prescribed treatment without any interruptions due to cash-flow issues.

The current system of healthcare financing is characterised by high out-of-pocket payments. Reports suggest that Indian households are increasingly relying on their own income and using their savings to finance healthcare expenses. This holds true for both rural and urban households, who together contribute about 62 percent of the total healthcare costs through out-of-pocket payments at the time of illness. This creates financial barriers to access healthcare services and many of those who access such services face financial catastrophe and impoverishment afterward.

Furthermore, over 7 percent of the population slips below the poverty line due to health expenditures, while 27 percent of hospitalised patients have had to sell their assets or borrow to finance their healthcare expenses, a survey recently noted. The data indicate that health payments push 60 million people below the poverty line, every year. On the other hand, the depth of coverage of by insurance schemes (both government and private) is very low and often only covers hospitalisation expenses.

As a solution to address this acute problem, AffordPlan is working towards reducing the burden of out-of-pocket expenses for patients and is making healthcare more accessible and affordable. It allows consumers to decide how much to save on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis - as per their chosen plan - and then make regular payments at their convenience.

In addition to having an easy way to save, consumers also receive discounts on medical bills and diagnostic services when they use AffordPlan services, bringing the overall treatment costs down by as much as 15-20 percent.

The new funds will be used to meet the growing demand for its savings-based finance platform and to advance the countrywide adoption of AffordPlan in various hospitals. The company is also planning to launch new savings, lending, and insurance products to cover medical and healthcare expenses.

Also, the Delhi-based company is expanding rapidly and looking to hire more than 200 employees across India by the end of 2018.

"The Indian healthcare sector is evolving to a state where patients will have multiple options for accessing healthcare from the public and private insurance schemes, and other financial services initiatives. We have positioned AffordPlan at the intersection of finance, healthcare, and technology to bring financial innovation to healthcare. We are well on our way to create the largest distribution network for financial services in healthcare in India," said AffordPlan co-founder and CEO Tejbir Singh.

On a related note, the current round of funding was led by Lok Capital and included, as a new investor, Omidyar Network, alongside existing investors-Prime Venture Partners and Kalaari Capital.