Giannis invests in telehealth company – InsuranceNewsNet


Giannis Antetokounmpo is presently in Greece, enjoying for the Greek nationwide basketball crew in early phases of the Worldwide Basketball Federation’s EuroBasket match, Europe’s premier basketball competitors. His brothers Thanasis and Kostas are on the crew, additionally, and youngest brother Alex was a part of the coaching camp roster.

By Greek information conferences and social media posts, it’s clear how a lot enjoyable the two-time NBA most respected participant is having enjoying along with his brothers for his residence nation. He is a worldwide celebrity and a people hero whose visage is on the crew airplane.

But he has by no means forgotten how his journey started, shaping the steps he is taken since – which presently consists of the funding in and advocacy for a telehealth firm referred to as Antidote Well being.

“Reasonably priced well being take care of all, regardless of the place you might be from – race, circumstance, location,” he mentioned of why he received concerned with the startup firm. “Gaining access to inexpensive well being take care of all. It is one thing that rising up we did not have, me and my household clearly being an immigrant illegally in Greece we weren’t capable of have that.

“I may see it in my mother and pop’s eye that they had been terrified once I was like ‘oh, my abdomen harm.’ Or, I’ve a headache or regardless of the case could also be. Or dad, ‘my hand, my wrist harm.’ They had been terrified. They had been like what are we going to do? We now have to discover a solution to deal with this ourselves, you recognize? However simply with the ability to enable all these individuals that do not have healthcare, that do not have entry to it, to present it to them, put it in entrance of them.

“I imagine you permit the world in a greater place and on the finish of the day that is what I need to do.”

Antetokounmpo spoke with the Journal Sentinel simply earlier than heading to Greece to coach for EuroBasket, and he mentioned that residing via the worldwide coronavirus pandemic additional illustrated that feeling and a need to do extra to present again.

“Not all people has entry,” he mentioned. “I am lucky to have the ability to play within the NBA once I was 18 and now I am 27. I can go to the physician. I can ship my child to the physician. I can have entry. However there’s so many thousands and thousands of individuals within the U.S. and all around the world, however extra within the U.S., that should not have that luxurious like us. A re we going to show a blind eye to that? Or are we going to do one thing about it? That is me doing one thing about it.

“I am not a well being professional however I imagine in individuals. Regardless of in case you’re wealthy or poor, persons are necessary, and on the finish of the day what are we going to do about it? That is me doing one thing about it.”

It is why Antetokounmpo was doing the interview, amongst many others as he was launched as a seven-figure investor and spokesman for Antidote Well being. Based in 2021, the telehealth firm has been elevating seed funding to construct a man-made intelligence-based digital well being upkeep group (HMO) to present uninsured and underinsured individuals an opportunity to attach with medical doctors through digital chatbots and video calls.

Wisconsin-based well being suppliers such because the Marshfield Clinic, Aurora Well being Care, Froedtert Well being, UnityPoint Well being, UW Well being and Bellin Well being have supplied telehealth companies for years, however Antidote’s hope is that it could present related companies with out the necessity of insurance coverage via a type of suppliers.

Dr. Nick van Terheyden of ECG Administration Consultants, which is a part of the Siemens Healthineers Firm, famous that telehealth companies do not tackle different points reminiscent of entry to dependable web, sensible telephones or house for personal conversations, however there’s a particular benefit to its use.

“In the event you can present individuals with ready-made entry in underserved communities and you may fulfill the challenges of sources, the expertise, sensible cellphone and so forth, you are broadening entry,” van Terheyden mentioned.

“I feel there’s a lot (of proof) to suggest it, however it’s not a transparent (reduce), hey, it will resolve the issue.”

A one-time major care go to through the Antidote web site is listed at $49, and a major care bundle is offered for $55 a month that features 12 visits in a yr and help with out-of-pocket drug prices. A person additionally should buy a major care go to for another person for $49.

It is very important observe that in Wisconsin, physicians and nurse practitioners have to be licensed in Wisconsin to diagnose and deal with a affected person within the state.

Antetokounmpo is an investor in Antidote, with the corporate saying he put 1,000,000 {dollars} into the corporate. It is a part of a burgeoning portfolio for the Milwaukee Bucks’ celebrity, who has invested in WatchBox, Wave Sports activities + Leisure,Alt (a digital sports activities buying and selling firm) and the Milwaukee Brewers amongst others.

A examine by Rock Well being famous that in 2021, $29.1 billion was raised in digital well being. That quantity has slowed in 2022 however remains to be anticipated to be bigger than funds raised in 2020.

“It is positively a land rush however we have seen that earlier than with the web growth of the late ’90s and also you noticed the identical fallout and there is not any query you are going to see the winners and losers (of telehealth firms),” van Terheyden mentioned.

He famous main tech firms taking massive steps into well being care, reminiscent of Amazon’s $four billion buy of major well being care group One Medical.

“Well being care is nice enterprise,” van Terheyden added. “And if you concentrate on it as a enterprise versus truly a service the neighborhood – I personally do not – but when you concentrate on it in that context in case you’re taking 18% of the financial system and it is flowing via well being care, that is a terrific enterprise comparatively immune to downturns.

“I feel telehealth is a transparent winner.”

What made this specific funding a bit totally different from a few of his others, nevertheless, is Antetokounmpo wished to place his face and voice behind the service. Aside from a choose few interviews following his first model funding in Prepared Diet in 2020, Antetokounmpo has not spoken publicly about his investments.

Why the change?

“As a result of I lived it,” Antetokounmpo mentioned. “I did not have well being care till I used to be 18, till I received to the NBA and I used to be capable of go to the physician, speak to the physician. I wasn’t ready to do this. It is lots of people not capable of do it…. It is a human proper, so all people ought to have that entry.”





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