The California HealthCare Foundation has launched a $10 million investment fund focusing on nonprofit organizations and for-profit companies with innovative services and devices that might significantly reduce costs and improve access to care in California.
"By creating an investment fund, we can engage a broader range of organizations and entrepreneurs in innovating to lower cost and improve access to care," said Mark D. Smith, MD, president and CEO of the CHCF.
According to Smith, the CHCF Health Innovation Fund is soliciting proposals from organizations and companies whose focus is aligned with the CHCF's mission to ensure affordable, quality care for underserved populations. Through this angel investment fund, the CHCF intends to support a broad range of entrepreneurs with proven records for developing scalable, sustainable businesses in the healthcare market.
"We know there are entrepreneurs who seek to combine their goal of succeeding in the marketplace with their drive to contribute to society,” said Margaret Laws, director of the CHCF's Innovations for the Underserved program, which oversees the program-related investment fund. “Through this investment fund we will support them to succeed in both arenas."
The CHCF Health Innovation Fund will provide funding at all stages, with a primary focus on early development, including seed rounds as small as $50,000. Total investment of up to $3 million is available over the life of a company.
Projects supported by the fund must aim for significant impact, as measured by improved access to services or care and/or lower cost of care. Specifically, they must:
- Create sustainable access to care for at least 100,000 people in California over three to five years, with the potential to reach 1 million people in the United States over time;
- Target cost reduction for a defined population in California that results in annual savings of at least $25 million; and/or
- Create a strong case study for policy change that enables statewide or national adoption of products or services that lower cost and/or improve access to the medically underserved.