After completing his schooling, Cyrus founded Zocdoc, a platform that allows people to easily schedule doctors appointments and rate physicians. When he left Zocdoc in 2015, he had one major regret for what he was able to accomplish: the platform benefitted those with healthcare coverage, but it didn’t take those without financial means into account. He decided that within the next healthcare company he started, he would address not just efficiency access, but also equity access - to make sure that everybody is covered.
About Cyrus Massoumi
The foundation of Cyrus’s interest in issues of healthcare access and equity stems from childhood. Coming from a long line of doctors, he would hear stories about how his late grandfather would treat people for free at his non-profit clinic. The family believed deeply that as a doctor, one has the moral task of improving the lives of those less fortunate. Later in his youth Cyrus learnt that an important figure in his life had no access to health insurance.
He understood this wasn’t an individual problem, but a structural one. Today, over 90 million Americans have no health insurance or can’t afford the insurance they have. Looking to change the status-quo, Cyrus strives towards innovation in healthcare, creating an America where everyone can receive adequate care.
“When he left Zocdoc in 2015, Cyrus had one major regret for what he was able to accomplish: the platform benefitted those with healthcare coverage, but it didn’t take those without financial means into account.”
Additionally, together with Slava Rubin, Cyrus founded a fund called humbition (meaning “humble ambition”) that invests in purpose driven, early stage startups. As part of this endeavor, Cyrus primarily manages investments in the healthtech space.
“Even when insured, many people cannot get care, and for many American families, a doctor's visit can put them on the brink of bankruptcy.”
In America, the gap between those who can afford to access healthcare and those who cannot, is getting bigger not smaller. Currently, only around 20% of people with health insurance meet their annual deductible. Most deductibles are over $500, and most Americans can’t afford a $500 charge. Even when insured, many people cannot get care, and for many American families, a doctor's visit can put them on the brink of bankruptcy.
Cyrus believes the rules need to be rewritten, and for him, healthtech is one way to do so.