Cityblock
The market
The U.S. healthcare system is often criticised for high costs, inequity, and high barriers to access. These problems have led to a system negatively impacting patients and beneficiaries, something that is particularly evident when it comes to community health—a division that targets inequalities through localized initiatives.
In the U.S., national healthcare spending exceeds $4 trillion annually. In this vast and fragmented market, Cityblock focuses on the most marginalised and underserved Medicaid and Dual beneficiaries. Combined, these government-funded programmes contribute over $1.6 trillion to U.S. national healthcare spending annually, with Medicaid alone supporting more than 83 million people (as of September 2023).
Cityblock targets these programmes to provide healthcare services to underserved and marginalized communities. By tackling inefficiencies and promoting equitable access, the company aims to reshape healthcare delivery in the U.S.
The company
Cityblock partners with U.S. health insurers in value-based care arrangements to manage some of the insurers’ most complex, underserved, and marginalized patients. The company focuses on Medicaid and dually eligible beneficiaries (enrolled in both Medicaid and Medicare programs).
Cityblock is assigned patients and is paid a monthly fee per member to engage and treat them. The company delivers tech-enabled medical care, behavioural healthcare, and social services to these high-risk or rising-risk individuals, and in the process, helps address and close gaps in healthcare, resulting in improved quality and outcomes. This approach helps reduce unnecessary emergency room visits and inpatient admissions, which translates into lower medical claims costs for these individuals and drives financial savings for the health insurers, who share a portion of it with Cityblock.
The Investment Case
Cityblock addresses a massive and growing need in the U.S., supporting the most vulnerable population groups with a community-based, tech-enabled, scalable care model. Today, there are 83 million Medicaid and 12.5 million dually eligible beneficiaries. Cityblock’s vision is to serve at least 10 million members from these groups by 2030.
The company has witnessed impressive growth and results since our initial investment in 2020, having expanded from a small NYC-based business to a company serving six markets, more than 100,000 members, and working with both national and regional health insurers.
We wanted to partner with Cityblock, not only to address the rising needs of underserved groups, but also because we believe value-based care arrangements are the future of American healthcare. Despite Cityblock’s considerable scale already, Cityblock’s visionary founder and CEO, Dr Toyin Ajayi, remains as motivated as ever to change US healthcare for the better, and build a transformational business.
