Since meeting in medical school, Jerrica Kirkley and Matthew Wetschler have become lifelong friends, bonding over their shared interest for improving the health care system for both the patient and provider.
As their careers progressed, they took slightly divergent paths. Kirkley devoted herself to getting high quality care for marginalized people, while Wetschler focused primarily on the potential benefits of telehealth.
Despite differing careers, the two have always kept close, frequently sharing stories from their personal and work lives.
Early last year, they saw an opportunity to marry their two skill sets under one cause, providing specialized care for the transgender community.
“It seemed like the perfect combination to really take both of those [experiences] and put them together in a way that was providing convenient, accessible and expert care directly to the patient,” Kirkley said.
So, the duo took a startup-like approach to building this digital care network they called Plume.
Using their own money, they bootstrapped a solution by using off the shelf software and a minimal legal structure. The goal was to provide the first digital health service focused exclusively on the transgender community, using a smartphone-based telemedicine program.
Now, nearly a year later, Denver-based Plume has grown greatly and provides a comprehensive suite of medical services for transgender patients.
When potential patients download Plume’s app, they are initially met by the company’s care team and given consent and intake forms to read and fill out. Once that’s complete, users can schedule a virtual video consult with their provider and begin to plan out their individualized care. In that initial consult, all medications they need are sent to a local pharmacy.
The company prides itself on accessible, expert care, often getting patients seen within a week of downloading the app. The majority of Plume’s 20-person staff is trans, giving patients the comfort that they’re being met by someone who understands what they need.
“I think what we offer is incredibly unique, and I haven’t seen this anywhere, to have almost a full team of medical staff that are trans themselves,” Kirkley, who is transgender, said.
Membership to Plume costs a flat rate of $99 per month and operates outside of traditional health insurance. With that fee, patients receive an initial evaluation, labs, prescriptions, virtual access to care and, most importantly, gender-affirming hormone therapy.
The decision to offer this flat rate was one Kirkley said was very intentional and transparent.
“We all live and work in systems where our health care is directly dependent on our health insurance, which is directly dependent on our employers. So, this means if you change jobs or change states, you could lose your entire network of health care providers,” she said. “We wanted to create something that was not limited by that. In creating a pricing that was affordable, you could move states or change jobs and you can stay with us no matter what.”
The company currently offers its services in 10 states, including Colorado, making it available to more than 700,000 trans individuals nationwide. Ultimately, Plume aims for national coverage, Kirkley said.
To aid in that growth, the company recently closed a $2.9 million funding round from General Catalyst and Slow Ventures, with participation from Springbank Collective.
Wetschler said this funding will allow Plume to grow faster and reach more prospective patients.
“The capital allows us to grow quickly and radically change the landscape of access to this life affirming treatment, extremely quickly,” he said.
It will also contribute to the company’s growth plans. To date, Plume has offered its services in the states with the highest trans populations, as a way to maximize impact.
“We’re balancing what is easiest and most feasible from a regulatory standpoint and what would have the most impact from increasing access. The crossing of those two has given us our strategy so far,” Wetschler said.
Both doctors agreed that the recent White House decision to remove protections for transgender patients against discrimination by doctors, hospitals and health insurance companies greatly increases the importance of Plume’s mission.
Wetschler said this politically motivated decision has an unfortunate ramification on the wellbeing of the trans community.
“We at Plume believe that healthcare is a right and we hope that there is universal access for every patient,” he said. “But, until that time, having a resource that is independent and reliable beyond location, employment, insurance and federal law is extremely valuable.”
“We’ve made a statement to our patients that we’re not going anywhere,” Kirkley added. “We’re going to provide the best care we can regardless.”
