MINNEAPOLIS – October 10, 2024 – Unengaged members have frustrated care providers and health insures alike for decades. The need to immediately transform the way in which the healthcare industry interacts with these critical members is a must. The good news, Reema Health is proving this is not only possible but that its method promotes health equity, decreases total cost of care, and cultivates a vibrant, enduring community.

As it moves into its next growth phase, Reema Health is proving again and again that building trust with unengaged members is the key, that it’s possible and that the outcomes – in both physical and mental health – are stunning. The company does this by blending compassionate “Community Guides” – people who live and work in the same community as patients – with proprietary cutting-edge technology.

“The power of community has been underutilized in healthcare for too long. A care manager calling from New York City to lead someone in rural West Virginia, someone they’ve never met, through a complex care journey has a low success rate,” said Justin Ley, CEO of Reema Health. “But having someone who understands a specific patient and who knows intimately the local challenges and health related social needs they’re going through is invaluable. It’s a revelation that will lead to massive health improvements across the country.”

Reema’s approach to health care recognizes the importance of providing care for the community, by the community. Reema’s Community Guides live and work in the same communities as our members, creating a sense of shared identity and understanding of their lived experiences. Reema’s Guides are improving health outcomes by making a difference for members at the community level. They build meaningful relationships with members, identify needs remain side-by-side to help navigate the care process and find solutions and resources to meet those needs.

Concurrently, Reema is excited to welcome HC9 Ventures as the lead investor in the company’s $7.5 million Series A round. HC9 brings hundreds of years of collective experience to Reema. The firm will play a significant role advising on operational matters and empowering Reema’s growth trajectory. Ensemble Innovation Ventures Fund also participated in this round as a new investor. To date, Reema has raised $17 million in total funding.

“Justin and the Reema team have ingeniously found a way to blend community-based empathy with technology to get people healthier,” said Richard Lungen, General Partner and Co-Founder of HC9 Ventures. “Ninety percent of the traditionally hard-to-engage health plan members that agree to work with Reema’s guides are on their tailored care journey within a short time, on route to better health outcomes. That’s impressive and why we’re honored to be collaborating with the Reema team to take their capabilities to all the communities in need across the country. We welcome Reema to the fast-growing HC9 portfolio.”

Reema isn’t focused just on physical care. The company also offers in-network behavioral health services and plans to grow this offering as well.

From a financial standpoint, Reema’s effectively leads to significant reduction in cost of care. For example, the company recently conducted a study with one of the country’s largest health insurers and saw a 23.4 percent reduction when compared to a control group.

When looking at disparities in health outcomes, experts agree that health is determined more by your zip code than by your genetic code, with up to 60 percent of clinical outcomes directly tied to where a person lives and works.

Combining public data with Reema’s own proprietary engagement data, the company-built data engine predicts the best ways to engage a member and build trust. Reema Guides then use that data to strategically intervene and head off costly care by engaging the unengaged in the right way and over time to change lives and improve outcomes.