Local health workers are essential agents in delivering care in underserved areas. “Community health workers utilize their lived experience to provide culturally relevant health education, navigation and advocacy that addresses the root cause of poor health outcomes,” said Colby Takeda of Pear Suite, whose AI-powered platform connects the workers directly with health plans for more efficient care coordination.
The Los Angeles-based company also helps the health providers they work for get reimbursed faster for their Medicaid and Medicare patients. Its Series A funding round was led by Rock Health Capital and Nexxus Holdings. Enable Ventures, Mucker Capital, the SCAN Foundation, Acumen America, Impact Engine and the California Health Care Foundation also participated.
Health access
Pear Suite got its start four years ago by supporting health workers during the Covid pandemic. Through partnerships with Kaiser Permanente, Anthem, Humana and other insurers, Pear Suite says it has supported healthcare care delivery through more than 2,500 community health workers at 600 care providers.
“The platform has propelled a largely informal, fragmented and analog system supporting community health workers, into a centralized digital platform,” said Regina Kline of Enable Ventures, a disability-focused venture capital firm (see, “Dual use’ disability tech attracts LPs and GPs to untapped talent and a growing market”). “That is streamlining and organizing the manner in which this vital workforce brings many Americans through the front door of the healthcare system.”
