Partnership with Echo Health Ventures will bring innovative health care services to members

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Echo Health Ventures (Echo) and BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee (BCBST) today announced that BCBST has joined the Echo Innovation Alliance (Alliance). Echo brings together Cambia Health Solutions, Mosaic Health Solutions, USAble Corporation (a wholly owned subsidiary of Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield), and now BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee to invest in companies that support and nationally scale cutting edge technologies in health care to improve affordability, accessibility and member outcomes.

The Alliance, formed in January 2021 to extend Echo’s strategic investment model, drives health care innovation to scale, supports meaningful health care impact and expands investment sourcing and industry relationships. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee’s partnership expands the scope of the Alliance, making it one of the largest and most active collaborative efforts of its kind.

“We are always looking for ways to make health care simpler, more affordable and more convenient for members,” said JD Hickey, president and chief executive officer of BlueCross BlueShield Tennessee. “By working with the Echo Innovation Alliance, we can deliver more value to the people we serve through innovative partnerships that can bring lower cost health care solutions to our communities.”

“Echo and BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee share a common aim to improve health care in an economically sustainable way,” said Rob Coppedge, chief executive officer of Echo Health Ventures. “BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee has been a leading supporter of health care innovation for years. Together we can increase the availability of new health care services and technology for their members and enable the Alliance to have a greater impact at national scale.”

About Echo Health Ventures
Echo Health Ventures drives systemic health care transformation through hands-on, purpose-driven strategic venture capital and growth equity investing. Echo brings together Cambia Health Solutions, Mosaic Health Solutions, USAble Corporation and BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee to accelerate health care innovation on a national scale and support meaningful health care impact. Learn more at www.echohealthventures.com.

About BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee is a taxpaying, not-for-profit health plan serving more than 3.4 million members in Tennessee and around the country. The Chattanooga-based company was founded in 1945 and has brought peace of mind to its members and local communities for more than 75 years. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Inc. is an independent licensee of the BlueCross BlueShield Association. For more information, visit the company’s news center at bcbstnews.com.

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