TreeHouse Health and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Announce Collaboration to Support Healthcare Innovation and Transformation
Minneapolis MN (PRWEB) May 14, 2015 -- TreeHouse Health™ (http://www.TreeHouse-Health.com), an innovation center for companies in healthcare, today announced an agreement with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (Blue Cross) to collaborate and support healthcare startup innovation in Minnesota. This agreement provides a platform for companies across the healthcare industry to work together to help forward the commitment of Blue Cross to lead the transformation of healthcare.
“We’re excited to partner with the largest Minnesota health plan and have them join us as an ‘anchor tenant’,” said John Blank, M.D., chairman, TreeHouse Health. “We know Blue Cross will help our startups understand the issues facing healthcare payers and assist in their path to commercialization.”
Blue Cross will have a regular presence at the TreeHouse Health facility in downtown Minneapolis, allowing the organization to engage and collaborate with the early-stage startup and emerging firms that are incubated at the facility. These TreeHouse Health “portfolio companies” bring a broad range of healthcare technology advancements to the market.
“The healthcare industry is moving into an era of game-changing transformation,” said Rochelle Myers, chief strategy officer at Blue Cross. “Blue Cross believes that a new health ecosystem is emerging; one that will be shaped by disruptive innovation, strategic partnerships, and entrepreneurialism. We’re excited to provide TreeHouse Health with access to our knowledge and strategic insight, based on Blue Cross’ 80-plus years of innovation and experience. Fostering
new ideas and supporting new voices is an important part of creating a more consumer-centered healthcare market that is easier to access, understand, and navigate for everyone.”
“TreeHouse Health is dedicated to helping emerging healthcare companies grow successfully. To do that, they must understand the needs of their customers,” Blank said. “We’re confident that Blue Cross’ participation in the TreeHouse Health ecosystem will not only accomplish that, but also help them advance their own internal innovation initiatives. The expertise and guidance Blue Cross provides will undoubtedly influence our selection of additional startups in which we invest going forward. All TreeHouse Health constituents will benefit from this agreement.”
The 13,000-square foot TreeHouse Health facility in downtown Minneapolis’ Loring Park
neighborhood is home to a growing group of early-stage healthcare technology startups, currently
numbering eight. These portfolio companies each receive support from TreeHouse Health and its
associates in the form of a cash investment, expertise, office space, network connections, and
professional services.
TreeHouse Health now has two “anchor tenants” spanning both the payer and provider markets.
It is seeking additional anchor tenant relationships with other leading healthcare organizations.
About TreeHouse Health LLC
Launched in October 2013, TreeHouse Health is a Minneapolis-based innovation center
supporting entrepreneurial growth for both large and emerging healthcare companies. Its aim is
to support the growth of emerging companies while also making it easier for large organizations to
innovate. Key to its success is the understanding that every organization, large and small, has its
own unique set of goals, challenges, and needs relating to innovation. TreeHouse Health has invested in eight early-stage healthcare startups to date and, in December 2014, signed its first anchor tenant agreement with Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC). For more information about TreeHouse Health, visit http://TreeHouse-Health.com. Interested in joining TreeHouse Health? Visit http://treehouse-health.com/join-us or email a business plan to [email protected]. Stay connected by following TreeHouse Health on Twitter (@TreeHouseHealth) and on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/treehouse-health).
About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota
With headquarters in the St. Paul suburb of Eagan, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota was
chartered in 1933 as Minnesota’s first health plan and continues to carry out its charter mission
today: to promote a wider, more economical and timely availability of health services for the people of Minnesota. A nonprofit, taxable organization, Blue Cross is the largest health plan based in Minnesota, covering 2.6 million members in Minnesota and nationally through its health plans or plans administered by its affiliated companies. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, headquartered in Chicago. Go to http://bluecrossmn.com to learn more about Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.
Holly Janiszewski, TreeHouse Health LLC, http://www.treehouse-health.com, +1 612-486-5934, [email protected]
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