Zelis to Acquire Healthcare Transparency Leader Sapphire Digital

Zelis, a leading payments company in healthcare, announced today it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Sapphire Digital (“Sapphire”), the healthcare industry’s leading platform for provider selection, patient access, price transparency, and digital consumer navigation. More than 100 million people rely on Sapphire to help them price, select and access care with confidence. As part of the transaction, the Sapphire leadership team will join Zelis to help lead the combined company’s healthcare consumer solutions business.

Founded in ­­­2007, Sapphire Digital provides a comprehensive, integrated healthcare consumer shopping and navigation platform, including provider search, quality ratings and reviews, appointment scheduling, pricing data and cost calculators, and other tools to find the lowest cost and highest quality care available. Sapphire’s end-to-end pricing data synthesizes multiple rate inputs, uses rules-based data engines to build procedure bundles, combines real-time benefit and accumulator data for accurate cost estimates, and presents information in a consumable format so members can make informed care decisions. Sapphire serves more than 100 million members at more than 50 leading health plans, third-party administrators, and self-funded employers.

“The financial and payments journey through healthcare remains an exceedingly complex and frustrating experience for payers, providers and members alike. Our mission is to harmonize the complete healthcare payment process by pricing, paying, and explaining healthcare. In the last five years, Zelis has transformed healthcare payments into a more seamless financial experience for payers and providers,” said Amanda Eisel, CEO of Zelis. “This acquisition will accelerate Zelis’ efforts to streamline the member experience. Together, we will create a comprehensive digital concierge solution for healthcare consumers by integrating Zelis’ payments and communications capabilities with Sapphire’s market-leading consumer navigation tools.”

“We are thrilled to join forces with Zelis to better serve our collective customers and to fundamentally change the way we all navigate healthcare,” added Kyle Raffaniello, Sapphire Digital’s CEO. “Both companies have been tackling some of healthcare’s most intractable challenges, and now that Zelis and Sapphire are joining forces, we have the technology, people and energy to harmonize the complete pricing and payments process for all healthcare constituents.”

Patrick O’Keefe, Chief Revenue Officer of Zelis added, “There is a clear need in the market for innovative price transparency solutions and digital navigation tools, now more than ever given the requirements for payers laid out in the No Surprises Act and Transparency in Coverage rule. We believe Sapphire’s platform is unmatched in the industry, as evidenced by its significant member reach and impressive roster of leading health plans, TPAs and self-insured employers. We’re very excited to add Sapphire’s extensive pricing and navigation capabilities to Zelis’ arsenal of solutions.”

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter. Specific terms of the transaction were not disclosed. TripleTree, LLC served as the exclusive financial advisor to Sapphire Digital for this transaction. Sapphire Digital was represented by Lowenstein Sandler LLP and Zelis was represented by Kirkland & Ellis in the transaction.