When Matt Loper’s aunt and uncle were both diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, he watched as they responded in two “radically different ways,” he said.
His aunt was able to quickly and easily adjust her lifestyle to accommodate her diagnosis.
“She became zealous about taking her meds each day, watching her diet and monitoring her glucose,” he added.
But his uncle “repeatedly fell off his care plan no matter how hard he tried.”
“He endured a lifetime of complications from the disease, and it ultimately took his life,” Loper said.
The question of how two people with the same condition and similar genetics could have two different outcomes became the catalyst for a company he co-founded. Wellth, built on the science of behavioral economics, created an AI-powered app with the goal of causing lasting behavior change and positive health outcomes. The app is designed to help with all types of chronic conditions, using customized motivational techniques to get members to follow through on healthy behaviors.
The startup focuses on Medicaid, Medicare, and those that are dual-eligible for both.
Funding
Wellth recently closed a Series B round of $20 million led by SignalFire, a VC fund that recently raised a $900 million fund focused on AI startups.
This new capital will be used to further invest in the behavioral science engine behind the app and for expanding the team.
Currently, Wellth has more than 35,000 members. And that number is growing each day, Loper told L.A. Inno.
In total, Wellth has received $40 million in funding.
“We started in 2014, way before VC money flowed freely into the digital health space,” Loper said. “Most digital health companies were focused on selling to employers. Investors would literally laugh at me when I said we wanted to only serve Medicaid, Medicare, and dual-eligible populations. A lot of people said it couldn’t be done.”
Wellth has 70-plus team members in L.A. and across the country. The company recently relocated its HQ to a larger office space in Marina del Rey.
Competition
Getting anyone to adopt lasting behavior change can be challenging. Many patient engagement platforms that serve those with chronic conditions “have not been effective in driving patients to make real habitual changes to their health regimen,” Loper said.
The Wellth co-founders believe their app will succeed because it’s underpinned by core principles of behavioral economics, like loss aversion, and powered by AI, which can tailor each member’s experience to motivate them to follow-through with healthy behaviors.
Patients are asked to take a simple healthy step every day, such as snapping a photo of themselves taking their medications or checking their glucose levels.
“Through this daily interaction, behaviors are trained into habits, which ultimately lead to lasting change and positive health outcomes,” Loper said.
Statistically speaking, Wellth’s outcomes include: a 42% average reduction in inpatient intake in hospitals; a 29% average reduction in the amount of people visiting the emergency department rather than their primary care physician or an urgent care facility; and a 16% improvement to medication adherence, Loper said.
Ninety one percent of Wellth’s members interact with the app every day, he added.
“As a result, Wellth’s health plan and provider clients have measured drastic cost savings and Medicare Advantage plans have achieved higher Star ratings,” he said.
There’s also a rewards program, in which Wellth’s clients have invested a combined $6 million.
To motivate healthy decisions, members are provided with a set amount of rewards. But if if they don’t do a check-in of their health task on a daily basis, they will incrementally lose those rewards.
Nearly 60% of Wellth rewards are spent on groceries and food, Loper said.
This rewards program is part of the reason the name of the company is called Wellth, as it’s a combo of “Wellness” and “Wealth."
