Johnson & Johnson Impact Ventures Invests in Clinify Health to Support Financial Sustainability of Community Health Centers in the U.S. and to Improve Patient Health Outcomes

Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) provide comprehensive primary care and ancillary services to almost 90 million patients in the United States. They play a critical role in bridging the gap to reach under-resourced communities and improving their health. However, FQHCs are often reimbursed on a per patient encounter basis, rather than the measures tied to patient’s overall health, engagement and costs. Ultimately, this antiquated reimbursement model encourages quantity over quality, limiting providers’ ability to ensure enough time, resources and management of that patient’s care is closely tied to the medical complexity of the patients themselves.

Clinify Health was founded in 2019 to implement value-based care (VBC) at FQHCs to improve their financial sustainability and the care their patients receive. Johnson & Johnson Impact Ventures (JJIV), an impact fund within the Johnson & Johnson Foundation, invested in Clinify in 2022 to advance its enablement of value-based models of care delivery in the health system. Clinify was also the recipient of the Health Equity Award at the 2020 Village Capital Startup Showcase—JJIV’s first accelerator supported in the U.S.

“Growing up, I saw firsthand the inequities many communities face related to healthcare access, literacy and general involvement with the primary care ecosystem. I recall the numerous hoops my mother—a full-time nurse and single parent—had to navigate and knew that many families did not have even the modest financial resources, healthcare knowledge and family support that we had. Economic, cultural and social barriers impacting our most vulnerable populations need to be considered in conjunction with clinical needs, or our country will continue to see a widening gap in population health disparities and outcomes. The healthcare system must ensure that providers are enabled to understand and deliver medical care that actually works with the realities of their environment and the populations they serve.”

– Nathan Pelzer, Founder and CEO, Clinify Health

The company has a SaaS-based solution that works with providers, Medicaid-managed care organizations and healthcare collaboratives to expand their use of alternative payment VBC models. It also supports their Care Teams with clinical workflow advisory, contract-centered data analytics and community-based interventions to drive optimal health outcomes. Their approach enables tailored, flexible and holistic care that prioritizes individual, long-term needs and acknowledges patients’ social and cultural context.

“Clinify’s platform is helping Community Health Centers transition to value-based care, which results in improved financial stability for physician practices, achievement of cost and quality measures for plans and, most importantly, improved health outcomes for patients. We are extremely excited about the work Nathan and his team are doing directly with providers to deliver enhanced care to more communities and look forward to continuing support for Clinify’s growth across the country.” - Vince Barragán, Investments Director, Johnson & Johnson Impact Ventures