Joshua Kushner/ Getty
With President Barack Obama’s health care bill still creating some waves, interest in making sense of health insurance is growing in the United States. Among those who carving out a niche in offering private health care insurance is Joshua Kushner, who recently formed his own health care fund under the title of Oscar.
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Presumably involved as a venture capitalist through his Thrive capital fund, Kushner took some time out in October of last year to establish Oscar in partnership with Kevin Nazemi and Mario Schlosser, who are in charge of the day-to-day operations of the company while Kushner has taken up the role of chairman.
Oscar began operating thanks to an initial funding round of around $35 million, values and in the last few days have conscripted an additional $30 million in Round Two, all of the coming from their existing investors, and again led by the Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, General Catalyst Partners as well as financial participation from Thrive Capital, the venture capital company founded and headed by Joshua Kushner.
According to Kushner, in a recent statement, the secret to Oscar’s dramatic market penetration is that the fund’ s key business principal is not to infringe on the total traditional health insurance industry ways of doing business, but instead to operate a service provider that will attract clientele through being user-friendly being and uncomplicated. Something that Obama care has failed to achieve till now.
“We wanted to create an experience like having a doctor in the family.” Summed up Kushner.
For the time being, Oscar’s market coverage is restricted to New York City and a few counties in the lower New York State. However, plans are in place that will see Oscar gradually spread their operations across the country.
Despite retaining the traditional practice of charging both deductibles and monthly payments, sets itself apart through focusing on providing a wide range of additional services designed to help make dealing with the health fund a much more pleasant experience through offering complementary generic drugs, and consultations with the family doctor as well as a wide choice of initial primary care appointments.
One of the shortcuts that Oscar offers to those even with the most basic knowledge of computer technology is a user-friendly online search portal that allows members of the fund to type in their symptoms in day-to-day English. The program then provides a preliminary diagnosis based on the patient’s symptoms, and passes these details on to specialist doctor that will know how to address their needs.
Oscar’s formula seems to be working and has already been translated into a client base numbering well into the tens of thousands and already bringing in considerable income.
According to Kushner, Oscar still has much of the initial funding in the bank, with the recent funding round earmarked to be used for consolidation and expansion.
Joshua Kushner graduated from the Harvard University in 2008 later going on to complete his Masters at the Harvard Business School in 2011.
Even while attending Harvard University, Joshua showed his entrepreneurial flair, co-founding Vostu, which grew to be one of the largest South American based social gaming company. Kushner eventually gave up his interest in Vostu only after he had established on Thrive capital in 2009.
After graduating from the Harvard Business School, Joshua Kushner began his formal professional career, working in the Merchant Banking Division of Goldman Sachs, leaving them only to establish Thrive Capital.
Kushner formed Thrive Capital as a private equity and venture capital firm creativity be focused on investments in the world of media and internet. Since its establishment in 2009, Thrive succeeded in raising more than $200 million in capital principally from institutional investors,
In September 2012, according to media reports Kushner raised $150 million for the Thrive III, the funds most recent capital injection. Thrive II raised Previous $40 million in late 2011.
Kushner has already made one serious killing with Thrive, being one of only three firms to invest in Instagram’s $50 million Series B round, with the funds estimated to have at least tripled in value in just over a year.
Joshua Kushner’s older brother, Jared is the principal shareholder in Kushner Properties, the family’s real estate holding and development company founded by their father Charles. The family also owns the New York Observer newspaper, which they acquired in 2005. Joshua serves as a director in both companies as well as being vice chairman of Artsy, a free online platform designed to connect Internet users to the world of art.
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