Our current healthcare system was not built to support queer patients.
Found one study from 2019 1 in 6 adults avoid the health system Mistrust and discrimination make it difficult for patients and their families to adequately assess the impact of gender-affirmation services, fertility treatments or family planning.
Search less. Close more.
Grow your bottom line with an all-in-one prospecting solution from the leader in private company data.
Based in Boston FOLX HealthA telemedicine platform focused on holistic care for the LGBTQIA+ community, is one of the few startups to enter the queer healthcare market. The startup announced Wednesday that it has raised $30 million to expand its platform.funding is 7wire Ventures With the participation of companies such as foresight capitalThe total funding reached $59.4 million, according to Crunchbase data.
FOLX Health, launched in 2020, offers a suite of physician-led virtual primary care and queer-specific health care services. Earlier this year, the company launched a benefits product for employers that allows companies to offer certain services such as hormone replacement therapy, PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis that reduces the chance of HIV infection) and sexual health counseling. I was.
The company also offers virtual support groups, community forums and resources for parents of queer or transgender children.
Primary care is becoming a niche
Comprehensive, holistic care is required to navigate the health care system, but it never sways like that. For patients who are queer, poor, or not white, the impact is even worse..
Physicians and specialists are often isolated from each other, and pieces of a single patient’s complex medical history are scattered across multiple physicians, and notes cannot be compared. Physicians who are inundated with appointments are unable to gather information about their patients’ mental health, religious background, or lifestyle. Such information may affect our ability to fulfill orders with 15 minute reservations.
young american More people are choosing not to have a primary care provideris the key pillar most people are expected to use to navigate the rest of the healthcare system.
Overall, there are only a handful of startups that cater to queer health. Funding so far in 2022 has reached $80 million for companies such as decorative featherwhich raised $24 million earlier this year to provide gender-verifying telemedicine services to transgender patients.
However, FOLX is an example of a primary care startup that is branching out into the primary care arena to provide comprehensive care in a niche segment. her hue healthis a New York-based telemedicine platform that connects black women with doctors who understand their health and lifestyle environment. caraway When Keira We provide specialized health care services for college-aged women.
Illustrated by Dom Guzman
Stay up to date on our latest funding rounds, acquisitions and more on the Crunchbase Daily.