98point6 Files IPO Prospectus: Scaling Affordable, AI-Enhanced Primary Care Across All 50 U.S. States

Primary health care refers to essential health care that is universally accessible to individuals and families within the community. It is also a type of health service affordable to both the general public and the government. As a core component of the national health system, it constitutes an integral part of social and economic development. However, due to concerns over time and financial costs, certain populations in the United States are unable to truly access these health care services.

According to the “2017 Survey of Physician Appointment Wait Times” released by Merritt Hawkins, a physician research firm under AMN Healthcare Services, the average wait time for patients to secure an appointment with a doctor in 15 major U.S. cities was 24.1 days. In addition, high outpatient costs have also impeded patients’ access to care.

How to Quickly and Affordably Access Cost-Effective Healthcare Services? 98point6 Offers a Viable Solution.

98point6, founded in 2015 and headquartered in Seattle, USA, is a healthcare technology company. It has been committed to addressing the rising costs of medical care and improving access to healthcare services. Its continuous care services cover the entire patient journey, from illness onset through recovery.

For years, Amazon has been continuously developing and exploring the healthcare industry, including ventures into prescription drugs, insurance payments, and medical big data cloud services. Most outside observers have speculated that Amazon will launch healthcare services based on its Prime membership system, a concept that early Amazon investor John Doerr has publicly referred to as “Prime Health.”

As Amazon’s health business boomed, Rob Schwietzer, the former head of Amazon Prime, joined 98point6—a company that had been in existence for only two years—in 2017 as its Chief Product Officer. Although Rob Schwietzer was not part of 98point6’s founding team, there was an indirect connection between him and the company’s establishment.

As early as 2011, Robbie Cape, co-founder of 98point6, met Rob Schwietzer while discussing subscription-related consulting issues. At that time, Robbie Cape was the founder and CEO of Cozi, a home application software development company (acquired by Time in 2004). Prior to founding Cozi, Robbie Cape had over ten years of experience at Microsoft, where he led several high-quality projects, including Microsoft Money.

Years later, Robbie Cape conceived the idea of founding 98point6, though he remained skeptical about the healthcare industry. Rob Schwietzer noted that he saw a significant opportunity to bring high-quality, convenient care to the healthcare sector, akin to Amazon’s impact on retail. Schwietzer’s perspective further solidified Robbie Cape’s resolve to establish 98point6.

Fukiko Ogisu, who joined 98point6 as COO in November 2020, brings over 20 years of leadership experience. Like Robbie Cape, Fukiko Ogisu previously spent a significant period at Microsoft, where she primarily led market product development teams and gained extensive expertise in developing products with a focus on user experience.

In the United States, the telemedicine sector is far from lacking in participants. Many companies have opted to connect doctors and patients through software-as-a-service platforms, with services typically covered by insurance or billed directly to patients at a fee of several tens of dollars per consultation. 98point6 has managed to stand out among numerous competitors largely due to its pricing advantage.

98point6 currently operates under three pricing models. The first is enterprise-focused, where companies partner with 98point6 to purchase services for their employees, enabling staff to obtain memberships free of charge or at a reduced cost, with no additional fees per consultation. The second targets healthcare service providers; similar to the enterprise model, once these providers partner with 98point6, individuals covered by their health plans can access 98point6’s services at low cost or for free. The third model is directed at individual members or customers. While the app itself is free to download, users are required to pay $30 during the first quarter after registration, followed by an annual subscription fee of $120 (cancellable anytime via phone). Subscribers then pay only $1 per consultation, equivalent to a registration fee.

Robbie Cape believes that this long-term subscription model can strengthen the ongoing connection between doctors and patients, enabling more interactions that are beneficial to physical health.

In addition to its price advantage, another key driver for users adopting 98point6 is the ability to communicate with physicians at any time, with services available 24/7. Moreover, the integration of AI technology ensures that doctors are not burdened by heavy patient management workloads.

Regardless of the various pricing models employed by 98point6, patients primarily access its services through direct communication with physicians via the app, demonstrating that 98point6 has made substantial efforts to optimize user experience.

Unlike in China, the Fahrenheit scale is commonly used for thermometers in the United States, where 98.6°F corresponds to 37°C. Therefore, 98point6 incorporated this figure when it was founded. Robbie Cape has also publicly stated that 98point6 itself serves as a benchmark indicator of human health.

In terms of service delivery, while video communication undoubtedly enhances the efficiency of patient-provider interactions, feedback from some patients indicates that many feel more secure using non-video methods. Consequently, 98point6 focuses primarily on text-based communication for doctor-patient interactions, reserving video calls mainly for identity verification and when there are changes in the patient’s condition.

Taking the purchase of prescription medications by patients with chronic conditions as an example, for those whose conditions are relatively stable and well-controlled by their current regimens, the primary purpose of using 98point6 is to obtain physician-prescribed refills. In such cases, patients can communicate their needs via text-based interactions with an AI bot and upload photos of their current prescription medications (including dosage information). Upon verifying the patient’s information, the physician can directly transmit the prescription to a pharmacy near the patient, thereby simplifying the medication pickup process.

Moreover, text-based communication is adaptable to a wider range of scenarios, allowing users to access services during spare moments at work without the need to schedule video consultations in advance. Of course, should a patient’s condition exhibit abnormal changes, physicians will provide in-person consultations, referrals, and other necessary services.

Through the automatic learning and recognition capabilities of AI robots, many simple and tedious tasks no longer require direct physician intervention, allowing doctors to better focus their time on disease treatment. After each visit, the system creates and stores a personalized care plan based on the patient’s condition, which patients can access and review at any time.

Personal Care Status

The U.S. health insurance system is divided into public health insurance and commercial insurance. Public health insurance primarily serves elderly individuals, people with disabilities, low-income populations, and other special groups who are U.S. citizens or hold U.S. status, while commercial insurance involves contracts between individuals or institutions and insurance companies.

Due to restrictions on access to public health insurance, the coverage rate of public health insurance in the United States is not high; instead, the commercial insurance market is particularly well-developed. Although most people receive insurance through their employers, some individuals remain uninsured for various reasons.

For those without health insurance, registering as a 98point6 member also provides access to cost-effective healthcare services without incurring additional medical expenses.

Dr. Brad Younggren, Chief Medical Officer of 98point6, joined the company in 2017 after previously serving as Chief Medical Officer at Shift Labs and Mobisante. In addition to his role at 98point6, Dr. Younggren currently works as an emergency medicine physician at EvergreenHealth, maintaining close ties with clinical practice.

Every physician on the 98point6 platform has undergone rigorous credentialing by the company’s Board of Directors and possesses solid clinical experience. The majority of these physicians are directly employed by 98point6, allowing them to dedicate more time to serving patients on the platform. As the company expands its membership base and the number of enterprise clients it serves, 98point6 continues to grow its physician team.

98point6It had maintained a low profile in the early stages and disclosed little business information to the outside world, until2018The company only officially released its service model and content to the public and promoted it to the market this year, but this did not affect the market’s positive outlook on its services in the earlier stages.。Public data shows that 98point6 secured three rounds of financing before its official product launch. Last October, 98point6 completed a $118 million Series E funding round.

98point6 Financing History

In May 2020, 98point6 received accreditation from URAC (Utilization Review Accreditation Commission) for its C-to-P (Consumer-to-Provider) services. Through this accreditation, 98point6 demonstrated the efforts it has made and the results it has achieved in delivering high-quality care, improving the consultation process, and enhancing the patient experience.

Currently, 98point6 has successfully expanded its services to all 50 U.S. states, achieving nationwide coverage across the United States. As of October 2020, 98point6 had established commercial partnerships with more than 200 enterprises, including major corporations such as Boeing, the restaurant chain Chipotle, and OK Convenience Stores, serving approximately 3 million members.

At this stage, 98point6 will continue to strengthen its B2B operations by streamlining the process for enterprise employees to access services, while embedding additional toolkits—such as email integration and personal usage reports—into its client-facing platform, thereby continuously providing healthcare guidance to newly onboarded employees and their families.