Read the Conversation
Conversation highlights:
- Successful Investment Round: Mutuus closed an investment round with venture capital firms from Panama, Chile, the US, Colombia, and Mexico. The funds will be dedicated to scaling a digital platform focused on small and medium-sized businesses.
- Growing the Network: Mutuus is developing affordable and adaptable health insurance models suited to different economic and regulatory landscapes, targeting the middle class and SMEs. In Mexico, the company already partners with leading hospital chains, covering 95% of major cities and driving scale, affordability, and accessibility in healthcare.
- AI-Driven Insurance & Process Optimization: AI-powered onboarding and customer relationship management to improve accuracy and efficiency. Mutuus is expanding technology capabilities through strategic collaborations with startups like Osigu to enhance process efficiency and cost optimization.
- Expanding Access to Healthcare: Mutuus' 2025 goal is to double the number of insured members, impacting 500 companies and providing 13,000 previously uninsured individuals with digital primary care and in-person services.
- Private Sector Leadership in Healthcare Innovation: With public sector investment falling short, the private sector, entrepreneurs, and key healthcare stakeholders must drive accessibility, diagnosis, and treatment solutions for better health outcomes.
EF: With fresh investment secured, what are your key priorities for 2025, and what excites you most about the road ahead?
JB: Closing this investment round has been a major milestone, bringing several venture capital firms. Our lead investor is Amador from Panama, alongside Tantauco and Fen Ventures from Chile, LatinLeap from Colombia, Preface Ventures and Cuesta Partners from the US, and G2 Momentum Capital from Mexico.
This funding allows us to strengthen our platform and gain a competitive edge in the B2B space. A core focus is growing our digital infrastructure to provide small and medium-sized businesses with a seamless system for managing employee memberships. Beyond simplifying administration, our platform offers valuable insights into how memberships are utilized, helping companies better understand employee engagement with our healthcare services. The ultimate goal is to improve accessibility and outcomes for both employers and employees.
We are also investing in new app features to enhance user experience, making our services even more intuitive and hassle-free. Reducing friction in healthcare access is a priority—members should be able to get the care they need with ease.
A key part of our offering is the support we provide throughout a member’s healthcare journey. From the first sign of a health issue to full recovery, we are there to guide them. If hospitalization is needed, we help navigate the often complex and stressful process, particularly in Latin America, where hospital access comes with unique challenges. Cost uncertainty, for example, is a major concern, but with Mutuus, everything is handled. We work closely with hospitals to ensure a seamless and predictable experience for our members.
These strong alliances set us apart and allow us to offer a vastly improved hospitalization experience. Alongside these efforts, our focus remains on growth and expansion—scaling our reach and advancing our technology to serve our members better.
EF: How do you see digital adoption evolving in Latin America, and what untapped opportunities do you plan to leverage?
JB: AI is set to play a major role not just in our processes but across the entire ecosystem of healthcare companies. By leveraging AI-driven processes, we will be able to achieve scalability without the need for significant workforce expansion while also delivering more efficient services to our members, hospitals, and doctors.
For Mutuus, AI enhances multiple aspects of our business. In onboarding and underwriting, it enables faster, more accurate risk assessments, leading to quicker responses for members.
Claims processing is another area of impact. Through our partnership with Osigu—a startup that recently secured a major investment—we have cut processing times by 50%. AI allows our system to reference policy conditions while factoring in individual health histories and behavioral patterns, resulting in more precise decision-making.
We’re also using AI to optimize hospital discharge procedures. Patients often face long waits of five to six hours before being cleared to leave, but by streamlining the process, we’ve reduced discharge times to just two hours. This significantly improves the experience for both patients and healthcare providers.
EF: Mutuus works with small and mid-sized companies as well as direct clients. How do you adapt your business model to different situations to ensure access continues to grow, given the challenges in Mexico?
JB: Mexico’s traditional health insurance market consists of two main segments. On one side, there are individuals who purchase their own health insurance. Despite the industry’s 80-year history, only around 4 million people of Mexico’s 136 million population have individual policies, primarily due to affordability. Only about 3% of families can sustain the cost, leaving the rest without access.
On the other side, employer-sponsored collective insurance covers just over 8 million people. Combined, both segments total around 12 million insured individuals, keeping health insurance penetration below 10%, a figure that has remained stagnant for years.
At Mutuus, we are changing this by creating a new generation of insured individuals and private healthcare users—an important shift that benefits doctors, hospitals, and medical suppliers alike. The impact is clear: 88% of our members had no prior health insurance, demonstrating how we are expanding access for an underserved market.
Our strategy targets two key groups: SMEs and the middle class. By partnering with SMEs, we provide quality healthcare access to employees and their families while reaching broader, traditionally uninsured populations. This dual approach is driving meaningful change, and we’re proud to be at the forefront of it.
EF: Where do you see the greatest opportunities for expansion in Latin America? What challenges do you anticipate, and how do you plan to overcome them?
JB: We plan to expand across Latin America, but may delay entry or avoid certain countries with well-integrated public and private healthcare systems.
That said, for example, Chile, despite having one of the region’s most advanced healthcare systems, still presents gaps Mutuus can help address, making it a potential market for us. Right now, we’re assessing which countries align best with our model for the initial phase of expansion. While Latin America remains our priority, we’re carefully evaluating each opportunity.
Regulatory hurdles and economic conditions will be key challenges. Adapting our product to meet the specific needs of each market will be crucial. For now, our main focus is on strengthening our technology platform, accelerating growth in Mexico, and expanding our network and strategic partnerships.
EF: Why is investing a dollar in Mexico a better choice compared to other markets? What strategic opportunities in healthcare make the country an attractive destination for investment?
JB: Healthcare investment in Mexico presents a tremendous opportunity. The government is increasingly exploring digital solutions to improve healthcare services. For example, under Dr. Kershenobich’s leadership, there is a growing focus on telemedicine, which—if implemented effectively—could help address primary care challenges by guiding individuals toward the right care pathways.
With a population of 136 million, Mexico represents a vast market where access to quality healthcare remains a top priority. Like many developing countries, wealth distribution is uneven, but healthcare needs are universal. Mexico has one of the highest rates of out-of-pocket healthcare spending globally, and the demand for innovative and accessible health solutions is immense.
The rapid expansion of private hospitals and new hospital chains over the past decade highlights the sector’s growth potential. Yet, there is still significant room for investment, making Mexico one of the most attractive healthcare markets. Given the country’s pressing healthcare needs and ongoing infrastructure transformation, the return on investment in this sector is highly promising.
EF: What role can insurance companies play in raising awareness about healthy lifestyles and fostering a sustainable healthcare system through prevention?
JB: Prevention is a significant challenge, both culturally and structurally. However, when companies like Mutuus provide solutions that encourage healthier lifestyles and greater access to preventive care, the long-term impact can be profound. The biggest hurdle is shifting people’s behaviors toward a more proactive approach to health.
We’ve seen in other markets and business models that certain strategies effectively drive behavioral change, encouraging healthier lifestyles. That’s why we are actively developing initiatives that give our members access to preventive healthcare programs.
Technology plays a key role in this transformation, empowering individuals to take control of their health—especially in managing chronic conditions like hypertension and diabetes, which are widespread in Mexico. The key to better long-term health outcomes is consistent monitoring and adherence to treatment plans.
By leveraging technology, we can improve chronic disease management, reduce complications, and enhance both life expectancy and quality of life. This aligns with government initiatives focused on preventive healthcare, and digital solutions will be instrumental in addressing these challenges. When people can track their health metrics and follow prescribed treatments, the benefits extend far beyond individuals to the healthcare system as a whole.
EF: What accomplishments will you be celebrating at the end of the year?
JB: Our goal is to at least double our membership and positively impact 500 small and medium-sized businesses. This would mean providing quality healthcare access to approximately 30,000 individuals who previously lacked it.
We aim to achieve this through digital primary healthcare solutions, significant discounts on in-person services, and full hospital expense coverage. These benefits are made possible by our technology, resources, and strategic alliances with leading hospital networks. Currently, our partnerships cover over 95% of major cities, and as we grow, we will extend our reach to even more underserved populations.
Technology is the key to making healthcare more accessible, seamless, and affordable for a broader segment of the population. If we succeed in doubling our membership, the impact on thousands of families will be something truly worth celebrating.
EF: What is your final message to our readers?
JB: If we - entrepreneurs and those in the private healthcare sector—do not take responsibility for improving healthcare in Latin America, no one else will. Unfortunately, in places like Mexico, where public healthcare investment as a percentage of GDP is the lowest in the region, the burden falls on us.
We have to take action; otherwise, nothing will change. The accessibility challenge is ours to solve. While there are many obstacles, ensuring at least proper diagnostics is within reach.
I firmly believe technology holds the key to solving this problem, but the private sector must step up with strong solutions. We have a responsibility to bring efficient, high-quality healthcare to the population—especially to the 40 million people living below the poverty line in Mexico. It is our duty, as a community, to take on this challenge.
