A fast-growing Greater Cincinnati health care company has invested in a Midwest-based startup that’s using AI and predictive analytics to reduce medical costs.
Blue Ash-based Ensemble Health Partners, a health care revenue cycle firm, led an $8 million Series A raise for Janus Health, a Chicago revenue cycle automation and decision support platform. Tennessee-based Caduceus Capital Partners, an early-stage VC company that counts Ensemble president and CEO Judson Ivy as a venture partner, also participated in the round.
Jim Gaffney, Ensemble’s executive vice president of strategy and corporate development, and Sue Tyler, former CFO for Medical Mutual of Ohio and a venture partner at Caduceus Capital, will both join Janus Health’s board of directors, per a release.
Ivy said the decision to invest in Janus was largely driven by its team, including CEO Brendan Downing. Ivy said he and Downing have known each other for years.
“We see a lot of technology fads in health care, but I am always most concerned with delivering value and creating impact for our clients and associates. As someone deeply entrenched in the revenue cycle world, I see tremendous potential for Janus to deliver on both fronts,” Ivy said in a statement.
Janus Health, founded in 2020, studies end-user behavior within the revenue cycle and uses advanced AI to determine the optimal path for each workflow. Janus then automates processes and end-to-end workflows using its scalable platform and delivers real-time predictive recommendations to guide human worker performance.
Many health systems do not currently have revenue cycle automation, and the company said billions of dollars are left uncollected annually due to poor methods and inconsistent human decision making in the revenue cycle process.
The health care revenue cycle is notoriously challenging. Billing and collections are especially complicated given various payors and parties involved in a transaction.
“Several factors, including labor shortages, shrinking reimbursements and more stable IT environments, are creating a ripe opportunity to transform the revenue cycle with artificial intelligence and automation,” Downing said in the release. “Janus Health offers a service that can have a significant impact for health systems struggling with these challenges.”
Ensemble Health Partners, founded in 2014, is one of the region’s fastest-growing companies. It manages the revenue cycle for more than 380 hospitals and 8,000 health care providers nationwide, including Mercy Health and Christ Hospital locally, and employs more than 6,500.
Ensemble in June acquired Odeza, a Chicago-based digital consumer communications platform that integrates with electronic health record platforms to simplify and automate patient interactions, for an undisclosed sum. And earlier this year, it made plans to go public with a $560.5-$649 million IPO. But the company postponed that move in recent weeks citing adverse market conditions.
Ivy, at the time, said Ensemble was well-capitalized with ample “organic and inorganic growth opportunities ahead.”