Oscar Health ($OSCR), a technology-based health insurance provider backed by Google parent company Alphabet, made its public debut on Wednesday at $36 per share, which was below its expected range, slipping further during the day.
The New York-based company touts itself as the first health insurance company with a "full stack technology platform," including telehealth and digital access options.
"We started the company eight years ago because we thought the health care experience in the U.S. leaves a lot to be desired," Mario Schlosser, CEO and co-founder of Oscar Health, told Cheddar. "It's too complicated. It's too costly. It's too hard to navigate the healthcare system."
Schlosser founded the company in 2012 with Joshua Kushner, the brother of Jared Kushner, son-in-law of Donald Trump. He said Oscar chose now to go public because the industry is starting to catch up with its approach.
"The healthcare system as a whole is moving in the direction of where we think it needs to be going," Schlosser said. "It's consumerizing more. It's virtualizing, digitizing more, and risk is getting shared more between payers and providers."
By looking at past claims data, Oscar Health found that two-thirds of claims made prior to the pandemic could have been done virtually. Importantly, Schlosser added, those were claims rather than patients, so individual customers will likely continue to mix in-person with virtual.
"In the next 10 years, I think the entire market will individualize," Schlosser said. "You'll be able to buy an instant experience in healthcare… no matter who you work for or who gives you the money for buying that experience."
One factor beyond the insurance provider's control is the Affordable Care Act, which regulates the bulk of the plans that generate its revenue.
Political winds may be on its side, however. The Biden Administration has committed to bolstering the program, and Oscar is hoping that means more subsidies.
"I think the ACA market is going to grow. There will be more subsidization coming into the markets," Schlosser said. "What I would not want to see is that somehow the regulations get softened up so that it's a race to the bottom on the benefit-design side. Benefits should get richer. The subsidies should get higher, and I think that's the way it's going."
Oscar Health currently has more than a half-million customers in 18 states.
The company's shares fell below $35 at the close.
