Nest Health Raises $4M in Seed Funding For Expansion

Startup Nest Health raised more than $4 million in an expanded seed round to fund growth in new areas and strengthen relationships with health plans. The company offers virtual and personal healthcare to families.

Nest Health is a value-driven healthcare provider that offers house calls and virtual treatment to parents and their kids for primary care. Since its introduction, thousands of Medicaid-eligible families in the greater New Orleans area have been able to use Nest Health’s solutions at no extra cost, the firm reports.

A number of investors, including Alumni Ventures and Ochsner Ventures, as well as SpringTide, spearheaded the seed round expansion.

In March 2023, the startup, located in New Orleans, was able to get a seed investment of $15 million from 8VC and the Blue Venture Fund, an innovative partnership of Blue Cross Blue Shield firms, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, and Sandbox Industries. 

With the goal of expanding access to outstanding primary care for families in the greater New Orleans community, Dr. Rebekah Gee, a licensed obstetrician-gynecologist and mother of five, helped establish Nest Health in 2021 with Rebecca Kavoussi, the former head of Landmark Health. 

Among the 50 states included in the 2022 Kids Count Data Book—a collection of current household statistics examining the well-being of children and families—Louisiana scores near the bottom in terms of maternal health and mortality and ranks virtually last in terms of child well-being. With figures revealing that 39 out of every 100,000 moms in Louisiana perish during or early after childbirth, the state received an ‘F’ rating for its maternal and newborn health outcomes, according to a report from the March of Dimes. 

Gee stated in an interview, “The U.S. is lagging behind other high-income nations when it comes to maternal and child health outcomes, and this is no accident because these things are so connected. The resources that families have to care for themselves and their children are intimately connected to the well-being of both the caregivers and their children and we falter on those.”

Gee and Kavoussi thought a better system was required to help families receive the care they require for their children as well as for themselves.

Last year, Gee expressed the anticipation that parents and children would attend all these appointments, often facing challenges related to transportation. She highlighted the absence of guaranteed paid family leave and affordable childcare in the U.S., which results in a system where individuals are compelled to seek care in person despite facing difficulties in doing so. She emphasized that there is inadequate attention given to the mental and physical well-being of arguably the most significant demographic—the individuals for whom health interventions could have the greatest impact throughout their lives. Nest Health was established with the aim of addressing these issues comprehensively.

Executives from Nest Health have stated that this investment is a breakthrough moment in Medicaid development. Medicaid serves 83 million individuals and accounts for 42% of the the nation’s births, yet despite spending $800 billion a year, only $1.6 billion of it goes toward venture capital.