Freshly backed Everside Health fending off overtures

Everside Health has fielded many inquiries from strategics on the heels of Amazon's primary care splash, but CEO Chris Miller said during an Axios Pro virtual event this week that his freshly funded company is "in no rush to sell."

Why it matters: Primary care players continue to attract attention, but the market has shifted from prioritizing skyrocketing growth to focusing on profitability — and Everside is following suit.

Catch up fast: Everside scrapped IPO plans and hauled in $164 million in NEA-led funding this summer.

Zoom in: The company is well-positioned to reach profitability in 12 to 18 months, Miller says, noting the minimal capital needs its model requires to open new clinics.

• "I think that also gives us a pretty distinct advantage in terms of some of those bigger public companies that are losing, frankly, quite a bit of capital," Miller says. Plus, the ability to be well-capitalized in this space enables it to "play a bit more offense than defense."
• Everside expects to see organic growth of 25%-30% year over year, he adds.

What they're saying: Miller views Amazon's acquisition of One Medical as a positive for the industry — not a competitive threat to his Denver-based company, which is fast approaching 400 health centers.

• "We love the fact that more individuals and clients — and frankly some big retailers and payers — are paying attention to the results that can be driven through value-based care."

What's next: A sale might not be on the table, but Everside is exploring a number of commercial opportunities with large payers, and even a few retailers, Miller says.

• The goal is to be a one-stop shop and total cost-of-care provider for its clients, having already started expanding beyond primary care and into mental health and occupational therapy.
• "We're looking at each vertical in a build-by-partner strategy," which could include partnerships in specialties like MSK. But, he adds, "one of the reasons we raised $164 million recently was to be open to M&A."
• Clients, for example, are asking Everside to provide dental and vision, Miller notes.

Context: Everside and One Medical, while both direct-to-employer primary care providers, aren't direct competitors for now, according to Miller.

• Everside's "sweet spot" is blue-collar America — unions, manufacturing companies and school districts, for example — whereas ONEM's D2C model prioritizes bigger cities and employers.
• "Frankly, those are the patients that really need much better health care," Miller says. Likewise, those are employers that "really desperately need to save money on health care... it's a need versus a nice to have."
• Everside, also doing more in the Fortune 200/Fortune 500 space, is unique in its scale, with nearly 400 health centers spanning 34 states.
• Miller boasts that it saves its clients 17% by year three and 31% by year five, and is eager to get to the point of taking full risk eventually.

The big picture: "There's 110 million Americans that get their insurance through self-insured employers right now, and we're serving 1.6 million lives. So there's a lot of room for us to continue to grow. We think every American needs this type of service."