J.P. Morgan Acquires InstaMed to Enter the U.S. Healthcare Payments Market

VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcBeat) has learned that J.P. Morgan Securities recently announced its acquisition of healthcare payment technology company InstaMed, aiming to deepen its penetration into the U.S. healthcare payments market, which is valued at $3.5 trillion.

It is reported that JPMorgan Chase will acquire the company for more than $500 million. The deal is expected to be JPMorgan’s largest acquisition since it purchased the banking assets of Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual in 2008.

InstaMed, headquartered in Philadelphia, was founded in 2004 by former Accenture consultants Bill Marvin and Chris Seib. The company is dedicated to automating medical billing through electronic channels. Consumers can enter their medical information into the InstaMed application and pay directly using a credit card. By connecting healthcare providers, banks, and payers, the company facilitates the seamless flow of information.

Takis Georgakopoulos, Head of Payments at JPMorgan Chase, stated, “In 2018, JPMorgan Chase investigated the healthcare sector in search of new investment growth drivers. The rise of e-commerce has drawn significant attention from numerous technology companies to healthcare payment technologies, presenting banks with a rare opportunity for growth.”

This acquisition decision is based on the enormous scale and complexity of the healthcare payments market: according to data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the U.S. healthcare payments market was valued at $3.5 trillion in 2017 and is projected to reach $6 trillion by 2027. Consequently, JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the United States, views the rapidly growing healthcare payments market as a sector worthy of active investment.

Georgakopoulos stated that JPMorgan Chase plans to embed its extensive payment infrastructure into InstaMed to provide customers with a comprehensive solution. JPMorgan Chase will make InstaMed’s applications and network available to its entire customer base.

Georgakopoulos stated in an interview, “The platform and network created by InstaMed have streamlined payment processes among various payers, providers, and consumers across the entire healthcare payment system.”

InstaMed CEO Marvin stated, “We are thrilled to combine our technology and talent with JPMorgan Chase’s scale and resources. We share a common goal: to leverage our strengths to influence the healthcare sector and jointly improve patient health.”

(Compiled by Li Chengping)