Building Bridges Through Investments and Innovations

As a leading health insurer in Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (CareFirst) has a responsibility to ensure our members and their communities have access to high-quality healthcare that is equitable and affordable. Enter Healthworx, CareFirst’s innovation and investment arm, with the sole mission of solving healthcare’s biggest challenges through partnerships and investments. The team at Healthworx creates, partners with and invests in sustainable solutions and start-ups to make healthcare better and more accessible for everyone.

Doba Parushev, Vice President of Healthworx, spoke with WTOP News about how Healthworx operates within the broader CareFirst mission, vision and strategy to transform healthcare to best serve members and the community.

In the interview, Doba discusses:

• What Healthworx invests in
• How investment and partnership decisions are made
• The unique challenges and opportunities of being a health plan operating in the venture capital space
• Existing partnerships and investments
• The organization’s start-up incubator, 1501 Health, created in partnership with CareFirst and LifeBridge Health