Aledade, a company that helps build and operate accountable care organizations focused on primary care, has raised $100 million in a series D funding round.

Founded in 2014, Aledade partners with independent practices, health centers and clinics to establish ACOs, which are networks of physicians and healthcare facilities that share financial and clinical responsibility for providing coordinated patient care, according to Kaiser Health News.

Aledade partners with nearly 800 independent primary care practices, including more than 100 federally qualified health centers, across 31 states. The company’s technology helps providers identify and better manage their most high-risk patients.

With the new funds, Aledade plans to grow partnerships with payers across the country, especially in the Medicare Advantage arena, an Aledade spokesperson, who declined to be named, said via email. In 2020, Aledade more than doubled the number of patients served through Medicare Advantage contracts, bringing the total to about 100,000.

Aledade will also invest in technology to support its national network and provide all physicians in its ACOs with actionable patient data.

Further, the company plans to “launch initiatives to extend the use of telehealth integrated directly into our tech platform, predict and prevent the occurrence of unplanned dialysis, reduce racial disparities in hypertension control, and enable even the smallest primary care practices in the country to join value-based contracts with Aledade,” the spokesperson added.

The new funding round, which was led by returning investor Meritech Capital, also included new growth investors Tiger Global Management and IVP, and another returning investor OMERS Growth Equity. In all, Aledade has raised $306 million since its inception.

“This impressive show of support from investors proves that value-based care led by independent primary care, embracing risk, is the right path forward for American healthcare,” said Dr. Farzad Mostashari, co-founder and CEO of Aledade, in a news release. “We are thrilled to put these resources to work by helping more primary care professionals enter risk-taking arrangements with all kinds of payers, reinforcing our tech platform in the face of nationwide growth, and innovative projects to improve the health of patients across the country.”

Though other innovative startups focused on primary care, like Oak Street Health and One Medical, have sprung up in the past 10 to 15 years, Aledade has a unique model, the spokesperson said.

First, the company’s model lets independent practices stay independent.

“We don’t buy practices, and we don’t try to build brick and mortar offices. That way we can scale quickly, and we let physicians and their staff take the lead,” the spokesperson said.

In addition, Aledade sees financial returns only when practices in its ACOs earn shared savings.

“So, when we grow in revenue, it’s because patients across the country are seeing better health outcomes, payers are seeing savings, and physicians are earning more revenue to keep their practices open and serving their communities,” the spokesperson added.

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