Oscar Health prior to this IPO was valued at about $3.2 billion in a 2018 funding round.
Obamacare health insurance provider Oscar Health has filed for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in the United States. The firm co-owned by Josh Kushner, the brother to Jared Kushner, former senior adviser to President Donald Trump is also backed by Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL).
According to the press release shared by the New York-based company, the size of the IPO is currently pegged at about $100 million but the figure is subject to change. The firm noted in the issued statement:
“The number of shares of Class A common stock to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined. The offering is subject to market conditions, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed, or as to the actual size or terms of the offering.”
The push by Oscar Health to go public takes its backing from the boost the telemedicine market received last year. The advent of the coronavirus pandemic resuscitated the need for virtual health planning and a trust insurance provider. Oscar Health checks this and more boxes as it enables scheduling physician visits, checking lab results, emergency virtual appointments, and prescription refill through its mobile app or online platform.
Oscar Health was established in 2014 by Josh and co-founders Mario Schlosser and Kevin Nazemi, who is no longer a part of the company. In the early days, the firm was involved in the individual sign up for Obamacare under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a provision that appears more attractive with Joe Biden at the helms of affairs.
The President has declared his intentions to support healthcare providers selling their services on ACA exchanges according to Forbes. Based on this, Oscar Health’s IPO is bound to be attractive to investors and bigger health services providers who made be looking to acquire the firm.
Oscar Health Name
According to the filing with the SEC, Oscar Health was named after an immigrant, Josh Kushner’s great-grandfather.
“He was an immigrant to America,” the SEC filing says. “His given name was not Oscar. But that’s the name he got at Ellis Island, and he stuck with it.”
Part of the decision to stick with this name was to come off as a firm with an identity. The founders said:
“When it came time to start our business, we wanted to let our members know that we were not a faceless health insurer whose logo lives on a card in their wallets. We wanted to communicate that we could help them navigate the health-care landscape like a doctor in the family would. So we chose a real name.”
Oscar Health prior to this IPO was valued at about $3.2 billion in a 2018 funding round according to Bloomberg. The firm has about 420,000 health plan enrollees across the country that includes about 400,000 in individual plans, about 18,700 in small group plans, and another 1,600 in Medicare Advantage plans, a business the company entered last year.
Per the filing, Oscar Health will be listed on the NYSE under the ticker symbol ‘OSCR’ and the lead underwriters are Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Allen & Company LLC.
Benjamin Godfrey is a blockchain enthusiast and journalists who relish writing about the real life applications of blockchain technology and innovations to drive general acceptance and worldwide integration of the emerging technology. His desires to educate people about cryptocurrencies inspires his contributions to renowned blockchain based media and sites. Benjamin Godfrey is a lover of sports and agriculture.
