Brighter is a Santa Monica-based internet and healthcare company that connects dentists, patients, and dental insurers. The company licenses a consumer-driven dental benefits experience to insurance carriers to help them administer dental plans more efficiently and offer patient-friendly services such as online and mobile provider directories, patient reviews, and a proprietary online appointment scheduling feature, Brighter Schedule.Brighter. About Brighter Brighter. Web. 6 Oct. 2015. The company's founder and CEO is internet entrepreneur Jake Winebaum.
Brighter's technology powers member engagement tools used by major dental insurers including Cigna, Aetna, and Delta Dental.
In December 2017, Brighter was acquired by Cigna.Cigna (CI) Buys Brighter to Enhance Technology Investment NASDAQ. NASDAQ, 15 December 2017. Web.
Early products The company's first product was a dental savings plan geared toward uninsured patients. It was profiled in several national publications, including Good Morning America,Good Morning America. How to Save Money at the Dentist. ABC News. Good Morning America, 7 Oct 2015. Web. 7 Oct. 2015. ABC World News with Diane Sawyer,Faris, Paula. ‘Real Money’ Tips to Make That Dentist Visit a Little Less Painful. ABC News. ABC News Network, 17 July 2013. Web. 27 Sept. 2013. The Los Angeles Times,Zamosky, Lisa. Cutting the Cost of Dental Care. Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2013. Web. 27 Sept. 2013. Bloomberg BusinessWeek,Clark, Patrick. A Dental Care Startup Sees Profit in Obamacare's Gaps. BusinessWeek. Bloomberg Business Week, 03 June 2013. Web. 27 Sept. 2013. Reuters,McBride, Sarah. Start-up Tries Tapping Market of Uninsured Dental Patients. Reuters. Reuters, 3 June 2013. Web. 27 Sept. 2013. and TechCrunch.Empson, Rip. Brighter Launches A New, Free Version Of Its Dental Service To Bring Affordable Care To The Uninsured. TechCrunch. TechCrunch, 3 June 2013. Web. 27 Sept. 2013.
In 2014, the company launched Brighter PRO, a dental benefit plan for self-funding companies.Brighter Turns To Employers With Brighter PRO SoCal Tech. SoCal Tech, 26 September 2014. Web. Companies use self-insured preferred-provider (PPO) dental plans, with access to an online platform to search for local providers, compare, and select a dentist.Taufen, Amber. Ancillary Plans Get a New Spin Benefits Pro. Benefits PRO, 9 June 2014. Web.
Licensing As of 2017, three of the largest dental insurers in the United States utilize Brighter products, through the company's licensing agreements with Cigna, Delta Dental, and Aetna.
In 2015, Cigna began licensing Brighter's platform to power the myCigna website and mobile app. The licensing agreement includes profiles of in-network providers, estimated copays, and online appointment scheduling.New online tools available for Cigna dental customers and practices Dentistry IQ. Dentistry IQ, 10 December 2015. Web.
Delta Dental added Brighter's appointment scheduling software, Brighter Schedule, to its mobile application in March 2017.Delta Dental to add consumer scheduling tool to app Dr. Bicuspid. Dr. Biscuspid, 6 January 2017. Web. Online scheduling was extended to DeltaDental.com in July 2017.
In August 2017, Aetna announced that it would be launching an updated experience on its Aetna Navigator site in January 2018. The new experience will include all of its dental customers and feature Brighter's entire suite of member engagement tools.New tools let Aetna dental plan members rate, review and book a trip to the dentist online, Digital Commerce 360, 8 August 2017. Web.
Funding and acquisition
Brighter secured about $49 million in investments, with backing from General Catalyst, Mayfield Fund, Benchmark, DAG Ventures, and Tenaya Capital.Brighter raises $21 million in push to boost transparency for dental benefits Med City News. Med City News, 20 April 2016. Web.
In December 2017, Cigna announced that it had acquired Brighter. In the announcement, Cigna said it planned to create new digital products for its members and for health care providers and to integrate Brighter's technology into existing products and services.Cigna Acquires Brighter, A Leader in Digital Engagement of Health Care Consumers Cigna. Cigna, 14 December 2017. Web.
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