Insurtech startup Troy Medicare aims to put the power of health care back in the hands of local providers and their patients.
Troy co-founders Flaviu Simihaian and Josh Young started the company in 2018, after Young, a pharmacist at family-owned Cannon Pharmacy in Concord, saw first-hand the struggles seniors faced when it came to obtaining prescription medication. The startup's platform is designed to provide accessible and affordable health insurance to older people in rural and underserved communities.
"With the high number of middlemen in health care, Medicare dollars oftentimes end up being spent on third parties that fail to deliver real value to North Carolina communities," Simihaian said.
Troy, based out of Charlotte, is available to anyone who is eligible for Medicare A or B and lives in Cabarrus, Iredell, Robeson or Rowan counties. The team is working on plans to expand into 15 additional North Carolina counties.
Simihaian said those who sign up for Troy have no premium, no copay for a primary care physician visit or generic medications, and up to $1,100 in over-the-counter benefits.
"While other plans confuse seniors with dozens of options and convoluted benefits, we believe in simplicity," he said. "We have only one plan: Troy Medicare."
Local pharmacies and physicians can register as a Troy Medicare provider, which allows them to accept the insurance plan from patients.
"Our job, as a health insurance company, is to get out of the way of the providers and empower them with data and technology," he said.
Simihaian said Troy has partnered with various hospital systems throughout the state, including Duke Health, First Health of the Carolinas, Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, Lake Norman Regional Medical Center, Iredell Memorial Hospital and SouthEastern Health. Moving into 2021, he said the startup will work to secure partnerships with Charlotte-based health-care providers.
"Many seniors say that they want to see doctors [in-network] at Atrium and Novant," he said. "We have been in conversations with [the hospital systems] to allow seniors to see their providers."
Atrium Health and Novant Health are the Charlotte region's largest health-care systems.
Simihaian said since 2018, Troy has raised more than $20 million from 143 investors, most of whom are providers and pharmacy owners.
"Many folks didn't believe we could build a local plan for our communities," he said. "We showed that it can be done."
