Exclusive: Transcarent names ex-Merck CEO Ken Frazier board chair
- Erin Brodwin, author of Axios Pro: Health Tech Deals

Kenneth Frazier, General Catalyst chair of health assurance initiatives and former Merck executive chair, president and CEO. Photo credit: Transcarent
Health care pathway architect Transcarent named former Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier chair of its board of directors, Frazier and Transcarent CEO Glen Tullman tell Axios exclusively.
Why it matters: Frazier, who led the pharmaceutical giant for 10 years while seeing his own employees' health care costs skyrocket, says he sees the role as a means of helping restore people's sense of trust and control in the medical system.
- "I’ve spent a lot of time developing new medicines and vaccines," Frazier tells Axios. "I also grew up in the inner city of Philadelphia, so I understand the last mile problem of not having access to care. There's a lot of dignity involved when you feel you're in charge, as opposed to having someone dictate it to you."
Details: Tullman and Frazier had been talking about Transcarent well before the company had a name, but Tullman didn't approach Frazier officially until General Catalyst managing partner Hemant Taneja suggested it.
State of play: Launched in summer 2021, Transcarent has raised just shy of $300 million, including the $200 million in Series C funds it collected in January 2022 led by Kinnevik and Human Capital. Competitors in the health care navigation space include:
- Accolade, which in 2020 raised $192.5 million in a second public offering.
- HealthJoy, which in October pulled in $60 million in Series D funds led by Valspring Capital.
How it works: Employer-facing Transcarent gives members round-the-clock access to clinicians via text and offers price comparison tools and quality assessments for medical interventions including surgeries.
- The company pays clinicians including surgeons on the same day they provide care.
- Members are promised a connection with a provider in less than 60 seconds and seven days of texting after that at no additional cost.
- Services span behavioral health, pharmacy, home health, surgeries and cancer.
- "What we’re doing is changing the path of care," Tullman says, by "putting consumers in charge."
State of play: Current Transcarent clients include UPS, Chubb, Kemper and Rush University. Current partners include Walmart, the Cleveland Clinic, Rush University and the Hospital for Special Surgery.
By the numbers: Tullman tells Axios that Transcarent's Series C gave the company just over three years of runway and notes the company sees the following average member utilization rates:
- 27% download the app.
- 60% use it.
- 70% come back to the app within 180 days of first using it.
What's next: Frazier says he'll be tracking member numbers, satisfaction rates and health outcomes to assess Transcarent's progress in achieving the goals he outlined (giving people a sense of control over their health care and maintaining trust).
- "It comes down to how many people do we help, and how do we help those people? Are we giving them substantial assistance in leading higher-quality lives?" Frazier says.