Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield announced today that it is joining Baptist Health and the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub to present HubX—LifeSciences, a program to support and accelerate the development of new startup companies with innovative solutions to improve healthcare delivery in Arkansas.
HubX—LifeSciences is the first-ever privately-funded and industry-specific business accelerator program in Arkansas.
“In our ever-changing environment, it is imperative to innovate and recreate the way we do business to better serve our members to ensure they have access to quality healthcare and reliable, affordable health insurance,” said Mark White, president and chief executive officer of Arkansas Blue Cross. “Effectively reaching healthcare consumers, empowering them with information they can understand for making good decisions, and providing them with the tools they need to make the process easy are all paramount to the future health of our members and all Arkansans. We want to encourage companies with bright, motivated employees to consider the possibilities of a great, new healthcare system.”
“We are very pleased and excited that Arkansas Blue Cross is joining Baptist Health to present HubX—LifeSciences,” said Warwick Sabin, executive director of the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub.  “With the active support and participation of the state’s largest health insurer and the state’s largest health system, this program is well positioned to make Arkansas a national leader in health care innovation and entrepreneurship.”
“At Baptist Health, we are constantly looking for innovative solutions to better serve Arkansans and make our health system better,” said Troy Wells, president and CEO of Baptist Health. “This effort really is about the strength of partnerships, and with the collaboration of Arkansas Blue Cross, we will be better positioned to help pave the way for business development, health care innovation, and better care for Arkansans through the state’s first healthcare accelerator. We are very pleased that the state’s largest insurer has agreed to join us in this endeavor.”
Up to 10 startup companies will be invited to participate in the 13-week program after several months of national and international recruitment. Each company will receive seed investment as well as intense mentorship and assistance as they rapidly proceed from concept to product development and customer acquisition. Initial seed investments into the companies will range from $25,000 to $50,000, and the companies also will qualify for additional back-end investments.
The participating companies will be selected based on their potential to provide solutions to several key priorities identified by Baptist Health and Arkansas Blue Cross, which include:
- Digital health care platforms
- Health care services
- Medical devices
The program will also benefit from a partnership with Iron Yard Ventures, which operates a Digital Health Accelerator that is ranked among the top five health accelerators in the nation. Iron Yard Ventures will share its expertise, training, mentor network, and other assets during its engagement with HubX—LifeSciences.
The accelerator will be hosted at the Innovation Hub from April-June 2016 and its director is Jeff Stinson, who also directs entrepreneurial programming at the Innovation Hub and is the executive director of the Fund for Arkansas’ Future, which is the state’s largest angel investment fund.
“As the state’s first industry-focused accelerator, we’ll have a number of differentiating factors, including the collaborations with Arkansas Blue Cross and Baptist,” Stinson said.  “To be able to offer a potential beta site and contract for successful cohort companies will be particularly attractive to entrepreneurs, we believe. Our programming will also build upon the lessons learned from past accelerators, and we’re putting a great deal of effort into providing entrepreneurs with a transformative experience. We look forward to bringing this powerful model of corporate-sponsored accelerators to other industries in the state.”
The Innovation Hub is planning to introduce other industry-specific accelerator programs under the HubX name in the near future.
Apply to participate in HubX-LifeSciences here. Applications will be accepted through February 15, 2016.