MINNEAPOLIS, MN, Dec 7, 2021 – Itiliti Health, the Minnesota-based healthcare company creating transparency and automation for prior authorizations, today announced a $2M round of funding to reduce the costs and response times of processing prior authorizations for health plans and healthcare providers by over 50%. The round was co-led by Bread and Butter Ventures and Altitude Ventures and included participation from M25, SpringTime VC, and Groove Capital.

“Prior authorization is a complex process involving 3 primary functions: Determining the need to prior authorize a procedure, adjudicating the requests, and resolving any appeals. Each of these steps is currently dominated by manual processes that create billions in incremental healthcare costs” said Co-Founder and CEO Michael Lunzer. “Our first product, PA Checkpoint, allows doctors to determine the need for a prior authorization in just 5 seconds, thus eliminating millions of phone calls and emails between doctors and insurance companies. We have already processed over a million transactions this year, saving health plans and doctors millions in avoidable costs. Future products will address other elements of the prior authorization process to continue driving unnecessary costs out of the healthcare system.”

Lunzer developed Itiliti while serving as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Blue Cross Blue Shield MN. BCBS MN is a leading innovator in improving the timeliness of care and reducing the processing burden for payers and providers and is one of Itiliti’s early customers.

Previously, Lunzer founded Warm Health which was acquired by Altegra Health and then Change Healthcare. His co-founder, COO Kurt Hulander, most recently led the development of the BCBS Minnesota retail centers as well as several impactful disease management programs. The health insurance and entrepreneurial experience of the leadership team are just one of the reasons its new investors saw value in Itliti.

“We are investing in a seasoned team who brings deep entrepreneurial and healthcare expertise to this deep pain point felt across the industry. We appreciate that it’s a solution built through the lens of the payer perspective for payers, and ultimately to benefit providers, patients, and the whole ecosystem, said Bread & Butter Ventures Managing Partner Mary Grove. Altitude Ventures Managing Partner Landon Gibbs added “The vision Itiliti has for leveraging its rules engines and best-in-class technology products that measurably optimize healthcare processes is incredibly exciting. PA Checkpoint itself is a game-changing solution but I believe it combined with Itiliti’s soon to be announced products has the potential to be transformational for the entire system.”