Plume provides virtual care services purposefully designed for the health care needs of the transgender community and has now raised a $24M Series B Funding Round led by Transformation Capital. Other investors participating in the round include General Catalyst and Townhall Ventures. The growth investment in Plume will support the company in fulfilling its mission to transform health care for every trans life by creating access to high quality, safe gender-affirming care. Plume plans to use the new funds to expand coverage throughout the U.S. and into virtual primary care, ensure Plume is covered by insurance, and provide support that trans and gender diverse people and their families deserve.
Dr. Jerrica Kirkley, Plume’s Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer shares: “As a trans woman and physician, I started Plume to offer a supportive space for trans Americans as they navigate our nation’s broken health care system. With today’s announcement, we are on track to reach our goal of increasing access to high-quality, gender-affirming care to patients across the U.S. in both urban areas and coverage deserts. Knowing the hurdles trans Americans face when accessing care, I’m encouraged to reach this benchmark and I look forward to Plume’s growth in the future. I want to thank Transformation Capital, General Catalyst, and Townhall Ventures for their partnership in transforming health care for every trans life.”
The visibility of the trans community is growing at an exponential rate as younger generations more readily openly identify as trans and gender diverse. Gen Z identifies as trans at nearly four times the rate of baby boomers and is statistically the queerest generation in history. Trans individuals have unique medical, legal, and socio-emotional needs distinct from those of the broader cisgender LGBQ+ population that are commonly unmet by the status quo. Plume is the only digital-health company entirely dedicated to services for trans and gender diverse individuals and their families and is uncompromisingly focused on providing the best care experience available.
While Plume continues to work towards gender-affirming care being covered by insurance, no insurance is necessary to become a member and receive care. Members pay $99 a month and receive 24/7 access to gender-affirming care, personal consultations, lab testing, facilitated support groups, medical letters of support for surgery and name and gender marker changes, and home delivery of prescriptions and gender-affirming medication as medically appropriate. Plume eliminates these barriers by making gender-affirming care accessible for anyone who needs it without ever having to step into a doctor’s office.
“Since launching in 2019, Plume has strived to bring the trans community the deeply personalized health care they deserve,” said Dr. Matthew Wetschler, Plume’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “Amidst growing anti-trans rhetoric nationwide, Plume’s model offers unmatched access to health care for trans Americans. Today’s announcement only reinforces our goal of expanding that coverage and eliminating barriers to quality care.”
Access to safe health care is woefully inadequate across the ~2 million Americans that constitute the trans community. More than 30% of trans people avoid health care for fear of discrimination and more than 60% of trans people in urban areas have had to access medications outside of the clinical system. Plume has a clinical care model purposefully designed by a trans-led clinical team to ensure a positive, high-quality health care experience.
Jenna Ciotti, Vice President at Transformation Capital commented: “We are thrilled to partner with Plume’s Co-Founders, Dr. Matthew Wetschler & Dr. Jerrica Kirkley, and their incredible team. Our firm has deep empathy and compassion for underserved communities – we believe the trans community deserves a better, more accessible care experience that is unfortunately not available to many in our health care system today. Plume is positioned to be a medical home for this important and growing community.”
