Direct primary care provider Everside Health scooped up $164 million in growth equity funding. 

The round was led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) with participation from Oak HC/FT and Alta Partners, as well as nine new investors that include Endeavor Catalyst.

WHAT IT DOES

Everside works with employers and unions to offer healthcare directly to their workers without an insurer middleman. It includes health centers and virtual care, and offers primary care, chronic condition management, mental health services, urgent care, occupational health and care coordination. 

The company said it will use the influx of capital for growth, to support potential mergers and acquisitions, and to improve the company's technology infrastructure and functionality. It also plans to add new services and specialty care options. 

"Limited access to quality primary care in the U.S. has compounded chronic conditions, exacerbated mental health problems and increased healthcare costs," Everside Health CEO Chris Miller said in a statement.

"Continued investment from NEA, Oak HC/FT and Alta Partners – and participation from our new investors – is a strong endorsement of our work to deliver high-quality, affordable and accessible healthcare. It will enable us to embed additional mental health professionals into our health centers as well as advance our technology capabilities to drive improved clinical outcomes. We are grateful for the funding and partnership of these esteemed investors and pleased to see the continued conviction in our integrated, value-based approach to direct primary care."

MARKET SNAPSHOT

Everside, formerly Paladina Health, was sold to NEA by dialysis company DaVita for $100 million in 2018. NEA also led a $165 million raise for the company that year.

The direct primary care company has made several acquisitions of its own. In 2019, it purchased Activate Healthcare, which offered services to employers and unions for preventive and primary care. It scooped up another direct provider, Healthstat, in 2020, and announced an agreement to acquire R-Health a year ago. 

Everside announced plans to go public in 2021, but last week wrote a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission scrapping its plans "due to market conditions."

Other players in the direct healthcare space include Nomi Health, which recently acquired sister companies Everyone Health and Sano Surgery, and Hint Health, which announced a $45 million raise in June. 

There are also a number of tech-enabled companies hoping to upend primary care. One major deal looming over the space is Amazon's planned acquisition of One Medical for around $3.9 billion.