New York City-based health insurance startup Oscar Health on Friday filed registration paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission as it prepares to go public.
Oscar, a startup that offers individual plans, family plans, Medicare Advantage and small-group plans, was founded in 2012 by Joshua Kushner and Mario Schlosser as a tech-focused startup that differentiates itself from larger health insurers through digital engagement with members.
Oscar is an operating subsidiary of Mulberry Health, a company backed by the well-funded investment firm Thrive Capital co-founded by Kushner. He is the brother of former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner.
Here are five things to know about the startup’s plans:
1. Oscar said in December it submitted confidential paperwork for its initial public offering. An S-1 registration form released Friday provides additional details on its plans, including that Oscar plans to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “OSCR.” The company has about 529,000 members across 18 states, up from nearly 230,000 members in 2019. Oscar on Friday said the number of shares and price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined.
2. Oscar will have two classes of common stock, Class A and Class B, according to the S-1 filing. Each share of Class A common stock, which is what’s offered as part of the IPO, is entitled to one vote. Each share of Class B common stock is entitled to 20 votes. Kushner’s Thrive Capital and Schlosser will be the only holders of Class B common stock. Oscar will be a “controlled company” as defined by the NYSE, which means more than 50% of its voting power will be held by a single group, in this case, the co-founders.
3. The company brought in $462.8 million in revenue in 2020, down 5.2% year-over-year. Oscar’s 2020 operating loss was $402.3 million, compared with a $259.4 million operating loss in 2019. Oscar in its S-1 filing acknowledged it has not been profitable and, as of December 2020, has accumulated a deficit of $1.4 billion.
4. The company’s plans for continued growth include acquiring more members in Oscar’s existing markets and states, expanding to new markets and states, introducing new products and plans, and evaluating possible acquisitions. Oscar also plans to monetize its tools by selling its technology and administrative services to other health plans, such as in a recent agreement it struck with Health First Health Plans.
5. Oscar’s plans to go public come on the heels of a funding announcement made in December, where the company said it closed a $140 million funding round led by Tiger Global Management. Oscar has raised $1.6 billion in funding to date from investors including Google’s parent company Alphabet.