Vitable Health has acquired Liferaft, becoming the first health benefits platform to offer a vertically integrated ICHRA (Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement) with Direct Primary Care. This integration aims to lower costs, improve care quality, and eliminate administrative burdens, targeting a market expected to provide insurance to over 11 million individuals, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

The acquisition addresses the "Impossible Triangle" of employee healthcare by reducing costs and expanding coverage through AI, which streamlines administrative processes. This development is significant as 58% of small businesses report struggling to afford traditional group health insurance, leaving over 80 million Americans uninsured or underinsured. Vitable Health's integrated platform now offers ICHRA, providing affordable healthcare without compromising quality.

Joseph Kitonga, Founder and CEO of Vitable Health, emphasized that employers have historically faced difficult choices between affordable but low-quality healthcare, high-quality but unaffordable care, or the burden of managing fragmented benefits. The combination of Liferaft's ICHRA technology with Vitable Health's direct care network aims to resolve these trade-offs by offering a single platform for employee healthcare and benefits.

By integrating Liferaft's ICHRA platform, Vitable Health is the first national provider to offer both ICHRA-based coverage and end-to-end primary care services on a single platform. AI is used to reduce bureaucratic costs, cutting approximately 25% of healthcare costs typically spent on administration. These savings are then reinvested into high-quality care for employees.

Vitable Health highlights several key benefits of this integration:

• Lower Costs: Employers can set fixed monthly contributions, averaging 35% below traditional group plans, providing predictable budgeting without surprise increases.
• Superior Care Access: Members receive unlimited primary care, mental health services, and coverage for over 1,000 medications, all with zero out-of-pocket costs.
• Zero Ongoing Admin: The platform can be implemented in 90 minutes, with AI-powered systems handling all ongoing administration.

Liferaft, founded by Nimish Shukla and Ian Blumenfeld, has a history of helping employers design custom HRA-based benefit plans and brings ICHRA market knowledge and implementation infrastructure to Vitable Health. Nimish Shukla noted the shared belief in accessible and affordable care, emphasizing the potential to deliver real impact to millions of workers.

Vitable Health offers a range of ACA-compliant health benefit solutions, including MEC and MVP plans, ICHRA and QSEHRA options, Direct Primary Care, and Dental and Vision coverage. The company has raised $25 million from investors, including First Round Capital and Y Combinator.

Liferaft's technology-enabled HRA platform is designed for small and midsize employers, offering modular, API-driven systems for launching HRA solutions or custom benefits programs. Liferaft has raised $11 million in funding from investors like XYZ Venture Capital and Costanoa Ventures.