Prospero Health is continuing its national expansion efforts. The home-based health care company announced Monday that it’s now entering the Southern California market.
Founded in 2019, Boston-based Prospero Health is a physician-led home-based health care company that provides supportive care to people with advanced illnesses. As of March 2021, Prospero serves more than 9,000 patients in 21 states.
The organization’s latest move is part of a larger expansion push: Prospero announced plans to enter 16 new states in December, adding to its previous 10-state footprint.
With its current expansion, Prospero Health will now serve patients in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Bernardino, Orange and Riverside counties.
“What our start in the state of California means for people is that they’ll have access to high-quality home-based medical care,” Doug Wenners, co-founder and CEO of Prospero Health, told Home Health Care News. “This [care] will allow them to live with fewer burdens day-to-day. We’re really excited about the opportunity to be able to do that in California.”
For Prospero Health, operating in California was also an opportunity to address the COVID-19 emergency. California — America’s most populous state — has the nation’s top case count. As of Monday, there were 3.5 million confirmed cases in the state.
“As we know with COVID, and this is certainly true in California … there’s an elevated risk [associated with] getting care in some of the more traditional venues like physician offices, or even in the hospital or emergency room,” Wenners said. “The degree to which we can provide an alternative to keep people safe at home is a big part of why we’re expanding into California.”
Prospero Health has forgone traditional brick-and-mortar locations in favor of scheduling software programs that match patients’ needs with the right clinicians in their area. Wenners credits the company’s business model for its ability to scale over a short period of time.
Prospero Health’s expansion also allows the company to further align with its partner UnitedHealthcare, a Medicare Advantage insurer. Wenners noted that the organization has played a big part in Prospero Health’s growth.
“They are the largest health insurer in the nation and we participate in their provider network,” he said. “They have been strong advocates for making home-based medical care available to their members who are in the greatest need. That’s a deep commitment. For that reason, they’ve been extremely important to us as a partner.”
Looking ahead, Prospero Health has plans to further expand its growing footprint. The company is looking to enter Nevada, New Mexico, Michigan, West Virginia and Vermont by the end of the year.
“For us, it really is identifying where we have the opportunity to serve people in need,” Wenners said. “We’ve tried to be thoughtful about building upon our existing presence and building out our footprint in contiguous geographic areas.”
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