8 VCs agree: Behavioral support and remote visits make digital health a strong bet for 2021

In TechCrunch investor surveys of years past, we’ve seen a big focus on fixing what’s broken or bringing the infrastructure into the modern era. But the world has dramatically changed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

More of us saw our doctor on video than ever before in 2020 — reaching a 300-fold increase in telehealth visits. It was the year healthcare finally moved fully into the digital space with data management solutions as well. And, though those digital visits have fallen slightly from the beginning of the pandemic, it doesn’t look like people want to go back to the way things were in the foreseeable future.

Now we’re onto the next phase where more people will be getting vaccinated, more of us will likely start to return to the office towards the end of the year, and there’s now a slew of new tech solutions to the issues 2020 presented. If you are investment-minded, as so many of our TechCrunch readers are, you will likely see a lot of potential in this space in 2021.

So we asked some of our favorite health tech VCs from The TechCrunch List where we are headed in the next year, what they’re most excited about and where they might be investing their dollars next. We asked each of them the same six questions, and each provided similar thoughts, but different approaches. Their responses have been edited for space and clarity:

Bryan Roberts and Bob Kocher, partners, Venrock
Nan Li, managing director, Obvious Ventures
Elizabeth Yin, general partner, Hustle Fund
Christina Farr, principal investor and health tech lead, OMERS Ventures
Ursheet Parikh, partner, Mayfield Ventures
Meha Patel, vice president and health tech expert, 645 Ventures
Emily Melton, founder and managing partner, Threshold Ventures

Bryan Roberts and Bob Kocher, partners, Venrock

Do you see more consumer demand for digital services? How does this trend affect what you are looking to invest in for 2021?
The pandemic certainly intensified pressure on the legacy, fee-for-service, activity-based healthcare system since volumes dried up for several months. People were scared to go to the doctor and doctors who are only paid when they see patients saw their revenue evaporate overnight. Telemedicine offered some revenue salvation fee-for-service healthcare but it was impossible to do as many tests and procedures so they have by and large, since summer 2020, reverted back to in-person as much as possible for increased revenue capture.

On the other hand, value-based providers were, in the short term, more insulated as they are paid based on typical levels of utilization. Not surprisingly, COVID-19 has motivated more providers to embrace value-based care because it offers much more stable cash flows and does not depend on the tyranny of cramming more patients into the daily schedule.

With value-based care, the incentives are strongly aligned for more, and continued, tech-enabled virtual care since it is more profitable for those clinicians when they detect diseases earlier and take action to avoid hospitalizations. The beauty of virtual and tech-enabled care is that it can be delivered more frequently and group visits can be facilitated easily, with multiple specialists or people supporting a patient, to improve coordination and speed of action. Also, much more data can be brought to bear to make these interactions higher quality. Imagine how much better blood pressure is controlled when a doctor has not just the in-office reading but also all of the daily readings, or diabetic control when it is informed by all the data from a patient’s continuous glucose monitor, or post-surgical care when a surgeon can review daily pictures of the surgical site.

The enormity of the opportunity to make healthcare more productive and recession-proof growth from our aging population will attract more entrepreneurs and more capital to healthcare IT.

Digital health funding broke records in 2020, with investors pouring in over $10 billion in the first three quarters and a jump in deals overall, compared to the previous year. Do you see that trend continuing as we move back to offices and out of this pandemic or do you think this was a blip due to special circumstances?

We think growth in healthcare IT has been and will continue to be, driven by (1) better businesses and business models via aligned economic incentives and information and (2) some big wins in the space via Teladoc-Livongo merger and JD Health IPO — so both sides of the supply (great businesses) — demand (investor interest) equation. For payers, many healthcare providers and patients, it is in their interest to adopt more cost-effective approaches for care delivery and to access new data to derive insights and remove arbitrages. These prerequisites are strongly aligned in favor of more healthcare IT company formation, rapid growth and successful exits.

While people may spend more time receiving in-person HC in the future than today, we think the rapid adoption of virtual care in 2020 coupled with ever-stronger incentives for the healthcare system to emulate consumer technology usability and the never-ending imperative of improving affordability, will continue to drive demand for startups. We also think that downward cost pressures will drive demand for technology to replace fax-machine-era, labor-first administrative processes too.

What do you think are the biggest trends to look out for in the digital healthcare industry this next year, given we are likely toward the end of the year to see more workers return to the office and everyone resuming activities as they did before this pandemic hit?

We think that telehealth will become the “Intel Inside” for many of the full stack healthcare IT businesses — Medicare Advantage payers, navigation companies, virtual pharmacies, virtual primary care practices — and that patients will continue to embrace telehealth. As a result, payers will increasingly redesign how insurance benefits work to encourage every patient to start with a telehealth visit every time. In many cases, telehealth will be able to fully resolve the problem and if not, guide the patient, along with the relevant data, to the best next step in care. This will improve responsiveness and reduce costs. We do think that brick-and-mortar players will lag behind since they continue to have strong incentives for in-person care and procedures to cover their large fixed costs.

COVID-19 has also made inescapable the inadequacy of behavioral healthcare in America. We have observed this firsthand through our investment in Lyra Health, which experienced dramatic growth in 2020. We think greater access to behavioral health, better coordination of behavioral health and primary care, better use of medications and tech-enabled care for more complex behavioral health conditions are all large opportunities.

We also foresee virtual care growing in more specialty care areas as patients demand more convenient ways to access specialist expertise and value-based primary care doctors desire more rapid and cost-effective ways to co-manage patients.

How will the Biden administration possibly affect your funding strategy in the digital health field now that there’s a change of the guard?

Economic incentives to lower healthcare cost growth and the desire to use information and data to find arbitrages and insights are as aligned as ever. Remember, the law driving the adoption of new payment models is MACRA, which passed the Senate in a bipartisan 92-8 vote in 2015. This implies an uninterrupted effort to drive the adoption of value-based care in Medicare, Medicare Advantage and Medicaid. A Biden administration will also continue efforts to create more interoperable data systems and support telehealth adoption.

A Biden administration also reduces uncertainty around the permanence of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). They instead will focus their efforts on expanding coverage through enhanced subsidies to buy insurance, more marketing of ACA plans, greater support for e-broker enrollment and strong incentives for states to expand Medicaid. And we do not think Medicare for All will be seriously considered by a ~50/50 Senate, although it will likely be spoken about periodically and loudly by the far left.

What’s the biggest category in your mind for digital health this next year? Why is that?

“Technology-enabled, virtual-everything” as the initial journey in healthcare, until you need to visit a facility because in-person is necessary. In 2020, we witnessed about a decade of user adoption compressed into six months as COVID-19 made it scary, or even impossible, to access in-person healthcare. Nearly every clinician in America, and at about half of the population, conducted a virtual healthcare visit in 2020. What happened? Patients liked it. Clinicians found virtual visits useful. And going forward we think that most care will incorporate aspects of virtual care, asynchronous communication and in-person encounters only when a procedure is needed. As importantly, payers found these approaches to be more cost-effective since care was delivered more rapidly and with only the most necessary diagnostics tests ordered.

Finally, are there any rising startups in your portfolio we should keep our eyes on at TechCrunch?

We have two portfolio companies that may be very compelling candidates: Suki and NewCo Health.

Suki has created a virtual medical assistant that acts as a voice user interface for electronic health records, enabling a doctor to write their clinical notes, enter orders, view information and exchange data with other providers dramatically and more efficiently. They have launched primary care and specialist doctors across dozens of health systems in 2020.

NewCo Health is a startup trying to democratize access to world-class cancer outcomes. Starting initially in Asia, they are tech-enabling the diagnosis, treatment planning and care management processes for cancer patients, connecting expert clinicians to every cancer case.

Nan Li, managing director, Obvious Ventures

Do you see more consumer demand for digital services? How does this trend affect what you are looking to invest in for 2021?

I believe that the 2020 regulatory changes and patient experiences involving telehealth will have lasting effects. The bigger opportunity ahead actually lies with responding to payer and provider demand for backend solutions to power digital care. Given that telehealth and remote care services were rushed to market last year, there is still a lot to build out on the infrastructure side to enable this drastic shift in care delivery. Healthcare services organizations have seen the incredible growth of digital health and are eager to build/buy better solutions for patient communication, remote patient monitoring and data management.

Digital health funding broke records in 2020, with investors pouring in over $10 billion in the first three quarters and a jump in deals overall, compared to the previous year. Do you see that trend continuing as we move back to offices and out of this pandemic or do you think this was a blip due to special circumstances?

Absolutely not a blip! We are headed into a unique, high-growth period in healthcare where many aspects of the healthcare ecosystem are being rebuilt. From insurance underwriting, the disease-specific standard of care protocols, clinical staffing models, to patient coordination and triage … every aspect of healthcare is fair game for innovative companies to address. This is a drastic expansion from the days where health tech was confined to “healthcare IT,” selling software to hospitals and the rise in investing attention reflects this generational opportunity.

One of the interesting outcomes of remote care delivery is an increased focus on patient centricity. Before, patients and healthcare workers were essentially matched based on where they lived or worked — given the importance of the shared space within commuting distance. We are seeing healthcare companies taking a much more granular view of patients and staff to better match them together. Some of the most exciting examples of this are the dedicated clinics popping up that target underserved communities, be they rural Medicaid populations or urban LGBTQ+ populations. Given how large and underserved many of these communities are, we are very excited about demographic and/or disease-specific offerings — many of which are likely to be digitally native in nature.

How will the Biden administration possibly affect your funding strategy in the digital health field now that there’s a change of the guard?

I think one of the few things both sides of the aisle can agree on today is that U.S. healthcare needs an overhaul and this has driven a lot of momentum behind initiatives like Medicare Advantage across multiple administrative changes. We are very interested in companies that are looking to bend the cost curve of healthcare using technology to drive better results to patients while delivering better economics for payers. Yes, these models are appealing to contract into value-based care systems like the ACA but really do have bipartisan support.

What’s the biggest category in your mind for digital health this next year? Why is that?

The confluence of political unrest, economic uncertainty and a poorly managed pandemic has taken a toll on society. Unfortunately, we believe that this leads to a large patient population seeking mental health and substance abuse support. These are two large and growing categories in healthcare in desperate need of new solutions.

Finally, are there any rising startups in your portfolio we should keep our eyes on at TechCrunch?

Yes! We have many companies that are pioneering new care models and looking to make a big dent in healthcare.

Virta Health — Taking a completely new approach to treating type 2 diabetes with a diet-forward solution.
Octave — Building out a suite of mental health treatments that are matched based on individual patient need.
Galileo — Software-driven digital primary care, built by Tom Lee from One Medical.

Elizabeth Yin, general partner, Hustle Fund

Do you see more consumer demand for digital services? How does this trend affect what you are looking to invest in for 2021?

Yes! I think this trend will continue! There are many services where you don’t need to see a doctor in-person and it may just be easier to do a consultation from your own home. Post-COVID, I think this trend is here to stay.

Things that come to mind for me personally last year: I did a remote physical therapy consultation (surprisingly worked well and cured my issues). I went to remote urgent care and talked through some health issues with a physician — that worked well. I have companies that helped patients in mental health or addiction that also did so well last year in helping many people remotely. Remote really does work.

Obviously, things like surgery will not happen remotely, and sometimes you do need to see a medical professional in person, but for triaging issues or consultations, this can be quite effective and can save everyone time.

For the reasons above, I think this trend will continue to accelerate. One of my health portfolio companies was able to extend their services into many more states last year because regulations changed for telehealth companies during the pandemic. So they were effectively able to expand 3x as fast as they had expected. In addition, it’s a lot easier to expand quickly as remote telehealth companies.

This is less about new business opportunities, but I think we’ll see workplaces add a layer of logistics in figuring out who has had the vaccine, how many people are in the office at one time, what ventilation is implemented, etc. I don’t think this is a long-term business opportunity, but I do think these logistics will be the top priority for many companies later this year.

How will the Biden administration possibly affect your funding strategy in the digital health field now that there’s a change of the guard?

It doesn’t change anything. But, I probably think way less about government risk than most investors. :)

In fact, to your point, a lot of people asked me if I was concerned for some of my portfolio companies when Trump was elected. (Such as The Pill Club, a women’s health company that does birth control delivery). The honest truth is that politicians can think they want to do something, but doing anything in government is REALLY CHALLENGING. In particular, it’s easier to add programs but it’s much harder to take something away from people (such as ACA).

As for Biden’s presidency, I think we should expect to see that he will just be spending four years trying to return us to where we were in 2019. In 2021, he’ll be focused on handling COVID and getting people back to work. Then, in 2022-2024, he’ll be focused on trying to get jobs and the economy back. His administration really won’t have much time for anything else IMO.

What’s the biggest category in your mind for digital health this next year? Why is that?

Integrative and alternative medicine/treatments. We have one portfolio company in this space called Rupa Health — they are B2B software to make it easy for providers to order lab tests. And they are focused (initially) on working with providers in integrative medicine.

But I think there’s so much more that can be done. Online clinics centered around Eastern medicine. Or even psilocybin therapy. I think today’s medical system just doesn’t work for many people, and we’re going to see off-the-beaten-path solutions arise online.

Christina Farr, principal investor and health tech lead, Omers Ventures

Do you see more consumer demand for digital services? How does this trend affect what you are looking to invest in for 2021?

We saw a huge spike in telemedicine back in the spring in the early days of the pandemic. That trend will likely continue in 2021, with most Americans still vulnerable to the virus given delays with vaccine distribution. We don’t see virtual care as a passing fad. Doctors have told us in countless conversations that they liked seeing patients via a laptop more than they expected to. It’s convenient, and there’s an unexpected intimacy to having a conversation with a patient while they’re at home. Patients have also shared that they were able to address many of their health concerns virtually. Telemedicine is a major part of our investment thesis, and yet we remain bullish on brick-and-mortar. There’s still so much care that still needs to be administered face to face. What we expect to see this year is more founders thinking thoughtfully about how to combine offline and online services.

Absolutely. digital health is here to stay. Unlike other areas of tech, which tend to have faster sales cycles, it can take a decade or more for these businesses to exit. But we saw a slew of IPOs and M&A in 2020, as startups reported record revenues and growth. That will lead to a whole new generation of health tech founders, as well as investors looking to back them. In our view, health care is a massive market and there’s still a lot of room to improve efficiency, increase access to care and lower costs. The key here is to learn from the mistakes of the past (look at how the first generation of electronic medical records have contributed to provider burnout) by prioritizing patient experience and incorporating the tech into the clinicians’ workflow.

We also see a growing trend for “vertical” telemedicine players, which are focused on specific patient populations. Many of these businesses are finding success selling to both employers/consumers and will continue to see their businesses accelerate in 2021. Look at Maven and Cleo in women’s health; or Included Health and Folx for LGBTQ employees; and Brightline Health or Brave Care in pediatrics. Companies across the country are looking for new ways to support their employees, as they won’t want their top talent dropping out of the workforce during these trying times.

Another key trend will be more of a focus on public health technology in ‘21. Many epidemiologists see COVID-19 as a so-called “starter pandemic,” and we’re going to need to bring far more resources to bear to be prepared in the future. Innovators will be looking to help local governments as we emerge from this crisis.

We also expect to see some new thinking amongst the various brick-and-mortar care providers. With telemedicine increasingly available as an option, consumer experience will be top of mind. We think we’ll see a renewed enthusiasm for technology to decrease wait times, improve online scheduling and make payments more upfront and transparent.

How will the Biden administration possibly affect your funding strategy in the digital health field now that there’s a change of the guard?

We don’t expect to see an uprooting of the Affordable Care Act. In fact, we may even see enrollment records in many states. Given the new majority, Democrats could expand funding for Medicaid and increase subsidies for lower-income Americans. We may also see a “public option,” which would mean Americans could choose between public and private insurance. At OMERS Ventures, we’re in it for the long haul and we’re committed to health tech no matter what may come from a policy standpoint.

What’s the biggest category in your mind for digital health this next year? Why is that?

We see a rising demand for behavioral health services. It’s been a rough year — and a slew of studies have found that people are in dire need of support. The challenge is the shortage of providers, as well as the lack of reimbursement, so we’re going to need to leverage technology to make the best use of what we have. At OMERS Ventures, we’re intrigued by the quality of the companies that are emerging in this space. Some will find success selling into the consumer market, while others will see an increasing demand from employers and health plans.

Finally, are there any rising startups in your portfolio we should keep our eyes on at TechCrunch?

Thanks for the opportunity to share. Here are a few, some in health and others in other sectors that we focus on:

PeerWell is in a super hot space, given the recent Hinge valuation. The team is creating digital tools for joint and back pain, giving patients guidance so that they can avoid surgery — if it’s not needed — and recover more quickly if it is. With all the surgeries that will likely be rescheduled post-COVID, PeerWell will be more important than ever in 2021. We also expect to see a slew of problems with pain and immobility, as we’ve all been sitting on back-to-back Zoom calls!

WorkRamp is in the learning-management-systems space, which is dominated by old school, complex systems. Ted Blosser, the CEO, is a rising star who hails from Box and Cisco. He’s pioneered using bite-sized, engaging content to get the job done. We’re seeing this business take off during COVID. Definitely, one to watch.

Homeownership is a hot topic these days but still is a challenge. Landed is helping educators and health care workers buy homes by offering down payment assistance so they can live in the neighborhoods they serve. 2020 has only reinforced the value of essential workers to our communities. You may already know about Landed through Kim Mai!

And one to keep an eye on for Battlefield that we think is cool:

HelloSelf is a startup out of the U.K. that has created a platform for connecting people with clinical psychologists. They are experiencing incredible outcomes showing that online therapy can be just as — if not more — effective than in person.

Ursheet Parikh, partner, Mayfield Ventures

Do you see more consumer demand for digital services? How does this trend affect what you are looking to invest in for 2021?

COVID catalyzed the e-commerce moment of healthcare with the change in consumer/provider behavior and reimbursement. As we saw with online commerce and ads, this digital transformation [grants] much greater efficiency across the ecosystem. Over the next decade, we will see increased efficiencies in the healthcare system for simpler conditions and thus make more room for the reimbursement of the next generation of targeted, engineered biology drugs and treatments that will be coming to market much faster than in the past.

The low cost of capital set by the U.S. Federal Reserve is basically a zero-interest loan for the innovation ecosystem to invest in companies for transforming human and planetary health. Until this low-interest-rate era [ends], we will see record-breaking venture funds for innovation ecosystem companies.

The next generation of connected devices will transform mental health and brain therapeutics. Here is a recent write-up from me on this trend.

How will the Biden administration possibly affect your funding strategy in the digital health field now that there’s a change of the guard?

We expect that ACA will be extended with a public option of Medicare for All with Medicare Advantage by the Biden administration. Medicare itself remains popular and Medicare Advantage remains one of the most profitable areas for all insurers. So having an option like that for the full population while preserving existing employer-based plans is where we expect things will converge.

What’s the biggest category in your mind for digital health this next year? Why is that?

Mental and brain health — new therapeutic approaches to treat our brain that are based on the biology of electrical signals that operate our brain and body.

Finally, are there any rising startups in your portfolio who we should keep our eyes on for coverage?

Mission Bio
Mammoth Biosciences
Endpoint Health
Nesos
Mirvie (still in stealth)

Meha Patel, vice president and health tech expert, 645 Ventures

Do you see more consumer demand for digital services? How does this trend affect what you are looking to invest in for 2021?

Yes, we’re definitely seeing more consumer demand for new digital services within healthcare. Prior to COVID-19, consumer engagement in digital health was concentrated in services such as appointment booking, pre-visit paperwork, asking urgent medical questions via text message, and/or on-demand medication requests. Over the past year, we have seen demand for digital services move into areas such as dermatology, mental and behavioral health, child care and more. This is especially true as it relates to follow-up visits or check-ins, where there is higher adherence via telemedicine. For example, our portfolio company Eden Health provides a comprehensive virtual care option that complements their in-person clinic, ensuring 24/7 care and a remote-first experience. This telehealth service has been in high demand during COVID-19. Eden’s total visits grew by more than 7x during 2020, with more than 90% of those visits being virtual.

As 645 considers investment areas in 2021 based on these tailwinds, we are focusing on the innovations that surround and enable telemedicine, beyond the video technology at the core of the visit. This includes solutions enabling the measurement of telehealthcare, care navigation tools that incorporate both online and offline optionality, and continuous care platforms that leverage ongoing data to offer more personalized healthcare. In the same way that front-desk managers, physician assistants and clipboards foster in-person healthcare visits, we believe there will be a new digital infrastructure that supports the same visits as they move to digital health platforms.

We see that trend continuing even as we move out of the pandemic. Rather than a blip, we believe the last year has actually been a significant inflection point in digital health. COVID-19 has caused massive accelerations in areas such as remote work and telemedicine adoption, and in many instances, the experiences are better, more efficient and less costly. As a result, while we expect to see some reversal to pre-pandemic norms, we think the world is moving toward a new normal with lasting behavioral changes. We describe this new world as the behavioral change economy.

Furthermore, not only do we see digital health funding continuing its current trajectory, but we also see new categories that have been created as a result of COVID-19, which will drive a continued active funding environment. For example, the pandemic has resulted in a widespread loss of employment, which has further highlighted the need for alternative, affordable healthcare options. There were almost 30 million nonelderly uninsured individuals in 2019, and unfortunately, this number has likely grown in 2020. This presents an opportunity for companies like Mira Health, which provides an affordable alternative to traditional health insurance plans.

Two of the biggest trends we are looking out for this year are personalized healthcare and continuous care. One of the many benefits of telemedicine and other digital platforms is the data that can be collected about individual indications, health history, preferences and more. Our expectation is that the next generation of healthcare startups will leverage this data to provide more customized care, whether that is furthering precision medicine, digital therapeutics or improving the care navigation process. This trend has been accelerated by COVID-19 but will extend far into the future. The market for precision medicine alone is projected to hit $85 billion, and we believe the applications for personalization extend far beyond this field.

For example, the process of finding a provider can now largely be done online but finding the right one is still difficult, especially when it comes to behavioral health. We are looking out for personalization at all levels of healthcare, from securing the right care to the care methodology itself. Furthermore, the implications of COVID-19 will continue to catalyze the industry long after 2020, especially as it relates to remote patient monitoring. In 2019, the CMS began reimbursing providers for remote patient monitoring services. Combined with the effects of the pandemic, we believe this will create exciting opportunities for how we think about continuous care going forward.

How will the Biden administration possibly affect your funding strategy in the digital health field now that there’s a change of the guard?

With regard to the ACA specifically, the change in administration will not significantly affect our funding strategy. While there will now be fewer challenges to the Affordable Care Act, we believe the push toward more affordable and accessible care transcends the political environment. The need is greater than it has ever been, given the large number of people who lost health coverage during COVID-19. Beyond the ACA, there are a few regulatory changes we’re following closely. Firstly, allowing doctors to practice across state lines during the COVID-19 crisis opens up new opportunities on where telehealth companies can be located and could dramatically change the cost paradigm. We also expect more legislation around privacy and transparent billing from the Biden administration, and it will be interesting to see how additional stipulations impact incumbents.

What’s the biggest category in your mind for digital health this next year? Why is that?

Along with the telemedicine ecosystem and personalized healthcare trends we mentioned above, a third area we are excited about is healthcare infrastructure. Over the past several years, we have seen an explosion in startups at the application layer to assist both patients and providers. With that explosion, there is now an increasing need to standardize the infrastructure that supports these startups with regards to compliance, security, licensing, communications and data standards. In the same way that Plaid created a financial infrastructure layer that connects fintech companies with financial institutions, we believe there will be a slew of startups enabling the same type of connectivity in healthcare and lowering the barriers to innovation.

Finally, are there any rising startups in your portfolio who we should keep our eyes on for coverage?

One company in our portfolio to keep an eye out for is Slope, which provides software for the clinical trial supply chain. Outside of our portfolio, another rising startup is MDAlly, which provides triage technology for emergency medical services.

Emily Melton, founder and managing partner, Threshold

Do you see more consumer demand for digital services? How does this trend affect what you are looking to invest in for 2021?

Digital health solutions have been available for the past five-plus years and in 2020 there was a rapid acceleration of an existing trend. I have been investing in technology-enabled health solutions for the past decade, but last year’s growth was driven by NECESSITY and companies like Livongo, Teladoc, Doximity and Wellframe among others were ready to meet the dramatic increase in demand as consumers needed to access healthcare in virtual environments because of COVID.

We are in the very early innings of what is possible and while COVID accelerated the adoption of telehealth and remote monitoring, I believe we are going to see greater integration of virtual and in-person health solutions that will deliver a superior consumer experience and improve the quality of care. I also believe that with an increase in consumer awareness and adoption of virtual health solutions, providers will be required to provide superior omnichannel healthcare experiences. The next phase of growth will move beyond NECESSITY and be in response to consumer DEMAND. I have made and will continue to make investments that put the consumer at the center of the healthcare experience where technology is the leverage to provide a better experience and drive superior outcomes.

First, I am hopeful that we will be back in our offices soon. That said, I do think that (1) at the current rate of vaccinations and with increased mutations most of 2021 will look like 2020, and (2) I do not think there is a “back to normal” but rather a new path forward where we take the lessons we’ve learned from the pandemic and rethink how we live our lives leading to a profound impact on multiple industries, including healthcare.

I think there are three major trends that will continue to drive healthcare investing and returns. First, people’s lives have been turned upside down the past year because of a global pandemic and their health and potential mortality were constantly top of mind. I do believe that people will continue to have a heightened awareness of their health and look for solutions and/or providers that empower them to take control of their own health. Second, consumers have discovered that a number of life tasks can effectively occur virtually and patients will continue to adopt digital health solutions that are convenient and effective. Finally, the pandemic has put enormous pressure on rigid legacy healthcare systems. New entrants building solutions predicated on modern technology will better leverage data systems and put the consumer at the center, thereby taking market share away from incumbents.

2020 was the year when the empowered health consumer recognized the need to take control of their own health. They adopted new tools and technologies to make better decisions and embraced virtual health solutions. I don’t mean to sound overly optimistic — this year was terrifying and isolating — but we also saw that we can leverage virtual tools to empower consumers. It is not unreasonable to assume that there can be a seamless integration between our virtual and real-world experience of healthcare — from managing complex chronic diseases to simply ordering prescriptions on Amazon. Consumers have long deserved a better healthcare experience and I think we now know we are capable of delivering it.

How will the Biden administration possibly affect your funding strategy in the digital health field now that there’s a change of the guard?

Oscar continued to make progress under the Trump administration, and despite a lot of political animosities, the ACA has proven to be resilient and citizens, now more than ever, are concerned about access to quality healthcare. I do think that the ACA is here to stay and the Biden administration will “protect and build on” existing frameworks.

That being said, while I believe it is important to be cognizant of policy changes my investment thesis is predicated on “business imperatives” versus policy incentives. I am looking for companies that leverage technology to empower the consumer, provide better outcomes and drive down costs with the hope of increasing access.

What’s the biggest category in your mind for digital health this next year? Why is that?

I don’t think there was just one product, but a collection of products all addressing a critical market need — mental health. We’ve seen substantial growth in behavioral health solutions prior to 2020, but this past year was the threshold moment where destigmatization has catalyzed demand, forever transforming the category. We are seeing substantial growth in a variety of areas, with companies that address clinical needs such as Lyra Health and Cerebral, to consumer products like Calm.

Finally, are there any rising startups in your portfolio we should keep our eyes on at TechCrunch?

Brightline is reinventing behavioral health for kids and teens — bringing together innovative technology, virtual behavioral health services and an integrated care team to support families across the country.

Mental health is at a tipping point, with the vast majority of solutions focused on adults. Yet kids and teens also experience the stress, anxiety and social isolation of COVID and are in need of solutions to address their specific developmental and, more broadly, mental health needs. Kids are not small adults: They need solutions that are built for them and their parents.