Chris George, the Co-Founder & CEO of QubeHealth, is all too familiar with the challenges of navigating India’s healthcare system. A seasoned entrepreneur with a diverse business background, Chris returned to India in 2000 and built a remarkable career, by pioneering one of the country’s earliest e-commerce ventures, EasyBuyMusic/EasyBuyStore and event went on to establish EBS Worldwide.
However, the news of cancer with a parent, brought to light the plight faced by us Indians, of paying for healthcare. He saw firsthand how healthcare costs could push even financially secure families into precarious situations. Determined to create a solution, Chris teamed up with his friend Gagan Kapur into setting up QubeHealth. Headquartered in Mumbai, QubeHealth isn’t just another healthcare company; it’s a FinTech for HealthTech innovator, aiming to revolutionise the way India pays for medical care. With Chris at the helm, QubeHealth is poised to make a significant impact, aiming to deploy $1 billion in healthcare finance and positively influence the lives of 10 million Indians over the next five years.
In conversation with People Matters, Chris shares his incredible insights on how organisations can design impactful wellness programmes, strategically leveraging data and analytics in this process and more.
Here are some excerpts.
What are the key roadblocks in employees paying for their healthcare? And how does QubeHealth’s model address these?
My team and I truly believe we’re solving a problem that affects our own families. Every team member within Qube has experienced the burden of healthcare expenses and incurred a cost which is financial or emotional.
For most Indians facing a healthcare crisis, they scramble to see if insurance covers it, dip into savings, or anything to manage the financial burden.
Even after 35-plus years of health insurance in India and all the buzz around Insurtech, less than 35% of the population actually has healthcare coverage.
And those who do are likely underinsured. Given that most of us get basic health insurance through our employers, we don’t pay much attention and just focus on our take-home pay. HR gives us a policy with perhaps a 3 lakh rupee coverage limit, and we think we’re good to go.
But the truth is, your health insurance will never pay for all of your family’s health care expenses – be it emergency healthcare and certainly not for non-emergency, OPD expenses. During the COVID-19 pandemic, people discovered how their policy covered only three nights in ICU, not the ten they needed. Or that they had a pre-existing condition that excluded coverage for COVID-related complications.
So here’s what we thought: if we’re already paying out of pocket for most healthcare expenses, emergency and non-emergency alike, why not make that process easy, and rewarding – essentially help you reduce the cost on every bill you pay. We get cashbacks on everything else these days, even food deliveries, why not on healthcare?
That’s the first pillar of QubeHealth. We built a payment system, QubeHealth-Pay, that lets you pay any healthcare provider in India that has UPI, and get an instant 10% cashback, on every bill, in addition to any discounts they may offer. Use “QubePay” to pay for your regular medical purchases, as well as any high ticket medical bills, and get an instant cashback each time – essentially helping you reduce your costs.
The second pillar is instant access to medical credit at no-cost. From 30,000 rupees at the dentist or Rupees 100,000 for IVF, whatever your healthcare needs, you get instant access to cash up to 10 lakh rupees, with no interest, and no hidden fees. You can pay it back in flexible EMIs over 1, 3, 6, 9, or 12 months. You can also use it for anyone you consider family, even non-blood relatives like in-laws, best friends, partners, or even pets.
However, you can only access the QubeHealth App if your employer has subscribed to Qube for you, usually in addition to your existing health insurance. The subscription fee is remarkably low – just two rupees per employee, per day. That’s less than the cost of a cup of tea. For that small investment, employees have the ability to reduce medical expenses by 10%, access up to 10 lakh rupees in credit, and take on zero liability for defaults. It’s a win-win.
Our users call us the “Zomato Gold for healthcare” or “Swiggy Dine Out for healthcare.” We’re already partnered with over 300 companies, including giants like Flipkart (managing 40,000 lives), Tata Teleservices, and Ion Exchange. This year, we’re aiming to double our user base to over 3 lakh, and we’ve already activated over 100 crore rupees in credit lines.
Given QubeHealth’s mission to democratise healthcare in India, what are some best practices you would share on crafting effective wellness initiatives?
With HR teams stretched thin, juggling recruitment, attrition, and a multitude of other pressing priorities, wellness programmes can often become a “check-in-the-box” exercise. Traditional approaches, like doctor-led lectures dispensing generic advice, often fail to translate into sustained behaviour change. We all know the drill – you’re encouraged to get annual checkups, but how often do we actually follow through?
The key to impactful wellness programmes lies in a deeper understanding of your workforce which include:
Targeted Solutions: Consider demographics like age and gender. A young, gig-based workforce might prioritise financial wellness strategies over mental health discussions.
Occupation-Specific Needs: Tailored programmes to address industry-specific health concerns. For instance, in India, where diabetes is prevalent, programmes could focus on healthy lifestyle choices. However, we also face a growing concern with anxiety disorders. Our recent study across 47 clients revealed concerning levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. Unfortunately, the cost and complexity of navigating mental health resources often act as barriers, particularly for younger employees.
Financial Accessibility: For instance, HPV vaccinations, crucial for preventing cervical cancer, can be cost-prohibitive for many.
Organisations must bridge the knowledge gap by presenting clear, actionable options. Medical jargon can be confusing, so helping employees navigate available solutions is crucial. Many existing wellness programmes also often create unnecessary friction. An example of this would include health checkups at limited clinics or cumbersome reimbursement processes that lead to low participation. For the Maharashtra police force, a health check programme boasts a mere 1% adoption rate due to a complex reimbursement process.
This is where QubeHealth comes in. Our user-friendly app allows seamless integration with healthcare providers. Like a healthcare-focused Google Pay – simply scan a UPI QR code, and we instantly recognise the service provider. We then present relevant options, like vouchers from your employer to help cover the cost. Ultimately, it’s about removing friction and empowering employees to take charge of their well-being.
How are new-age technologies like AI and big data shaping the future of corporate wellness programmes? How can it be leveraged to create a more proactive approach to employee health?
From the outset, we understood the limitations of isolated health data points, like annual blood work results for employees. Such a narrow view fails to capture the bigger picture. Therefore, we adopted a four-pronged approach to data collection:
Employment History: Upon onboarding an employer, we integrate their employment history data. We’re actively seeking partnerships to enrich this data further, potentially leveraging information from platforms like LinkedIn. This composite view provides insight into job types and potential health risks associated with different professions.
Insurance Data Integration: Collaboration with insurance companies and brokers allows us to access coverage details – both employer-provided and individual plans. This includes insights like the number of covered family members and sub-limits.
Financial Health Analysis: With user consent, we perform a credit bureau analysis. This provides valuable data points like income, debt-to-income ratio, and existing loan obligations.
App Usage Analysis: By analysing user activity within the QubeHealth app, we can identify spending patterns. This includes details like frequency of medication purchases, types of medications, and whether purchases are for the user or dependents.
This comprehensive data set allows our growing AI team to identify patterns based on factors like gender, age, regional location, and occupation. Leveraging this data, we are developing a recommendation engine which can identify potential health risks, such as high cholesterol, obesity, or even hair loss or skin concerns. However, the core value lies in offering actionable insights. For example, if a user is notified of a potential vitamin deficiency leading to hair loss, we can recommend specific solutions.
Fostering a culture of care starts from within. What are some programmes and policies QubeHealth has implemented to prioritise employee well-being?
We’ve established a comprehensive set of policies and offer all the benefits a young, dynamic company should, with a focus on employee healthcare, as you’d expect from a healthcare payments company. All employees have access to a credit line that covers their entire family. We readily provide top-ups if needed. Additionally, we offer comprehensive health insurance for all employees.
However, our true differentiator lies in our “Concierging”. In a scenario where one of our employee’s family members require hospitalisation, the entire “Qube Crew” jumps into action, managing the entire admission process.
This allows our people to focus on their loved ones while we ensure a smooth and efficient hospital admission. Given how stressful hospital admissions and discharges can be – we eliminate that stress, letting our employees focus on what truly matters.
We also recognise that convenience plays a vital role in healthcare. That’s why we offer diagnostic and health checkup options that cater to individual preferences, and we’ve extended this service to our clients as well. Whether you’re at home, at the gym, or at the office, we can arrange for a phlebotomist to come to you.
For us, mental health is just as important as physical health. We’ve implemented innovative initiatives like “expression days.” Inspired by anonymous school notes, employees can express their concerns anonymously, fostering open communication and addressing mental health challenges.
The entrepreneurial path is full of learnings. Looking back, what are some of your biggest lessons? Is there anything you would have done differently in your journey as the CEO and co-founder of QubeHealth?
It’s natural to have regrets, and the butterfly effect makes it difficult to say for sure what would have happened differently. But the journey has taught me valuable lessons.
One of the most important things I’ve learned is that learning is a lifelong process. There’s always more to know, and I constantly emphasise this to my team. Here at QubeHealth, we function as a team, not a family. Everyone contributes their part and works hard to earn the respect of their colleagues. Success comes from consistently demonstrating your value to your teammates, not just to management.
Instead of focusing on sheer numbers, we prioritise building a high-performing team. We call it our “Special Ops Commando Unit.” This allows us to concentrate on getting the best out of people and ensure the team functions effectively as a whole.
Many people are surprised that our team of only 54 people manages over 300 large corporations and 200,000 paid subscribers.
Work-life balance is also important to us. We maintain a strict policy of leaving the office by 7 pm. Staying late requires a specific explanation, with the only regular exception being team bonding over beers. Ultimately, people are our assets and this value needs to be a core principle for any founder. HR isn’t something you outsource; it’s part of our company DNA. The founder’s commitment to building a people-centric culture is what will shape the entire organisation moving forward.