Spora Health: Primary Care for Black & POC Communities

Significant differences in healthcare outcomes are experienced by Black individuals in the United States, yet these often remain unaddressed due to insufficient awareness and education among healthcare professionals. Spora Health, debuting today for individuals in Virginia, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and Florida, is designed to address this issue.

“Our aim is to establish a truly fair healthcare system in America, particularly for Black communities, as such a system has never previously existed,” explained Dan Miller, founder and CEO of Spora Health, in a statement to TechCrunch.

Spora Health, having recently secured $1.2 million in seed funding, functions as a primary care provider specifically for Black people and other people of color. The company is initially utilizing a telemedicine model, with future plans to establish physical practice locations.

Patients of Spora Health gain access to its comprehensive care platform and a dedicated care team comprised of physicians, nurse practitioners, nutrition experts, and other specialists. The company’s technology, powered by machine learning, is also capable of identifying patient risk factors and detecting chronic conditions such as pre-diabetes, hypertension, and emphysema.

Spora Health’s service is available for $9.99 monthly. During the initial consultation, patients will pay their standard co-pay. Individuals without insurance coverage will be charged a one-time fee of $99 for their first visit. This model is comparable to services like One Medical, which has an annual fee of $199, but is specifically tailored to the unique healthcare requirements of Black people and people of color.

“As a new company, we are able to offer competitive pricing,” Miller stated. “We can provide a more affordable service due to lower operating costs and the use of technology that enables a more considered approach.”

Although the primary focus is on serving Black people and people of color, not all of Spora Health’s medical providers identify with those demographics.

“Our intention is to prioritize providers of color, but the current availability does not meet the demand,” Miller clarified. “There is a limited number of physicians who are people of color, so we must invest in continuing education for existing providers.”

To qualify as a provider with Spora Health, medical professionals must complete an interview process and participate in the Spora Institute. The Spora Institute is dedicated to re-educating providers and increasing their awareness of unconscious biases.

“Medical school curricula include health equity training, but this is typically limited to the first year of study,” Miller explained. “Often, these implicit biases resurface by the end of residency because the ongoing training and environment do not consistently emphasize equity or address disparities within specific populations.”