Mission-minded Spotlight: Tip a ScRxipt
Welcome to the July edition of ✨“Mission-minded: Building for Tomorrow" ✨
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Affordable healthcare remains a struggle in the US, and out-of-pocket expenses continue to increase drastically. Working to address that hurdle, Tip a ScRxipt has launched a controlled-expense debit card platform that enables government, healthcare providers, health plans, foundations, and community organizations to provide “payment assistance with guard rails.”
😱 1) Why care? According to KFF polling data, 1 in 4 adults in the US have skipped or postponed getting care in the past 12 months because of the cost. Fifty-eight million Americans also struggle to pay out-of-pocket costs for medications, resulting in dire consequences. It’s important that medical treatment, preventative care, and food security are prioritized and made accessible in this country.
🔥 2) What makes the co. credible? They’ve serviced organizations such as Greater Milwaukee Foundation and they partnered with American Family Insurance to launch a payment assistance program with Outreach Community Health Center. Tip a ScRxipt was accepted into gener8tor’s Northwestern Mutual Black Founders accelerator and received investment funds. In 2021, they closed a Seed Round of $500K led by Milwaukee’s Gateway Capital. They were also named 21 startups to watch that year by Wisconsin Inno and the Milwaukee Business Journal.
💓 3) What I love about their story? Founder Chad Johnson was inspired to launch Tip a ScRxipt when his mother lost her retiree insurance and was forced to apply for Medicare. Her out-of-pocket costs for medication increased from $20/month to a whopping $400/month! I love that he and his mother appeared on Project Pitch It (Milwaukee’s Shark Tank Style show on ABC) – and that they won first place in the Project Pitch It Award!
Whether we’ve experienced these out-of-pocket expenses personally or seen these challenges impact our friends and loved ones, it’s evident that this is a dire problem plaguing our access to healthcare. To echo Chad’s mom, Joyce: “No one should have to choose between paying for food or medication.”
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In case you missed it, ✨“Mission-minded: Building for tomorrow" ✨is a monthly series where I highlight an under-the-radar founder or company that’s building something that has the power to enact real change in our world. From my personal perspective and understanding, I’ll tell you why you should care about what they’re building, what makes them credible, and what I love about their story. Here are the companies we’ve spotlighted so far this year:
💻June: Pyrra, an intelligence platform that protects people, assets and brands from disinformation, physical violence and hate speech.
🤱May: Canopie, an app dedicated to providing mothers, including pregnant women, with mental health resources.
🧠April: Wayhaven, an adaptive, chat-based mental wellness app to support the unique challenges faced by college students - available 24/7.
💧March: Varuna, a company that enables the delivery of clean water efficiently by providing water system operators with actionable data and insights to identify blindspots
✊🏿February: Acclinate, increasing health equity by making research more inclusive by helping pharmaceutical companies and healthcare organizations access and engage communities of color
♀️ January: Mission-Driven Tech, a company that's building innovative solutions that normalize and modernize Cervical Health, a historically underfunded and misunderstood field of medicine