Venture Funding to Support Carallel’s Expansion With MA Plans

Carallel, a provider of human-centered guidance and digital tools for family caregivers, has raised an $8.2 million Series A funding round to support its expanding partnerships with Medicare Advantage plans.

FCA Venture Partners led the round, with participation from several regional payers including 450 Ventures, as well as Create Health Ventures, Gratitude Railroad, Loud Capital, and Wanxiang Healthcare Investments.

Founded in 2018, Carallel supports more than 400,000 Medicare Advantage and commercially insured members and their caregivers nationally. The company plans to use the new funding to expand its reach in both the Medicare Advantage and commercial markets. The funds will also support increased development of dynamic digital experiences, expansion of peer-to-peer support, and targeted care interventions.

In one example, Carallel is providing caregiver support services to Florida Blue Medicare Advantage members as a supplemental benefit. Florida Blue provides unlimited access to the company’s team of care advocates for expert guidance and assistance on caregiving topics such as health condition management, advance care planning, home safety, in-home care, senior living, wellness and self-care, and financial considerations, as well as access to the company’s caregiver portal, MyCareDesk. This benefit is available to any member who is supporting friends or family as a caregiver as well as to anyone who is supporting a Florida Blue member as a caregiver.

The Series A fundraising round will help the company launch new programs in 2023 with several plan partners, including NextBlue of North Dakota, Priority Health, and Vermont Blue Advantage, among others. These programs represent innovative ways for plans to improve Medicare Stars performance, to extend care management for quality improvement, and to differentiate themselves in competitive markets.

“We want to make sure family caregivers feel supported. They are essential because they play an invaluable role in providing physical and emotional help to our members,” said Scott Norman, vice president of Medicare for Michigan-based Priority Health, in a statement. “We are eager to offer Carallel services to our members who are serving as caregivers, as well as those who are dependent on caregivers.”

“The healthcare industry relies on an uncompensated, often invisible workforce of family caregivers,” said Shara Cohen, Carallel’s CEO, in a statement. “Carallel addresses this challenge through a unique, proven care model that combines frictionless access to compassionate support and expert guidance with purpose-driven technology to improve both the well-being of caregivers and those in their care.”