Sana Benefits
Sana Benefits is an Austin-based health insurance technology company offering level-funded and self-funded health plans plus virtual primary care to small and mid-sized employers across 15 states, serving 30,000+ members via a broker distribution channel.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersAustin, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Sana Benefits does
Sana Benefits is a private, for-profit health insurance technology company founded in 2017 and headquartered in Austin, Texas. The company underwrites and distributes level-funded and self-funded health plans for small and mid-sized businesses, serving more than 30,000 members across 15 states with a minimum employer size of two employees. Its product suite is anchored by a HIPAA-compliant technology platform built on AWS with a Ruby on Rails backend and a React front end, integrated with Modern Treasury for premium and claims payments and with PerfectQuote for broker-channel quoting.
The company monetizes primarily through insurance premiums on level-funded plans, with retention shaped by medical loss ratio on each group. Sana Care extends the offering into virtual primary care, bundling PlushCare for acute and primary care, Maven Clinic for family and reproductive health, and Headspace for mental wellbeing into an integrated member experience. Distribution is broker-led, and the product is positioned to compete on transparent pricing and integrated care rather than on provider network scale.
Sana has raised approximately $107 million in total venture funding across three rounds: a $3.6 million seed in 2019, a $20 million Series A extension in October 2021, and a $60 million Series B in June 2022. The company is led by co-founder Will Young as CEO, with Dr. Grace Hunter as Chief Medical Officer and co-founder Nathan Hackley also on the leadership team. Headcount has grown from 160+ employees in 2022 to a 251–500 firmographic range, and the company is actively expanding its geographic footprint beyond the current 15 states.
Sana Benefits firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sana Benefits
- Legal name
- Sana Benefits, Inc.
- Website
- https://sanabenefits.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Sana Benefits is an Austin-based health insurance technology company offering level-funded and self-funded health plans plus virtual primary care to small and mid-sized employers across 15 states, serving 30,000+ members via a broker distribution channel.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sana Benefits industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Small Business Health Insurance
- NAICS
- Health and Welfare Funds (525120)
- SIC
- Accident & Health Insurance (6321)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Eligibility, Enrollment & Benefits Administration (HLAEALAH)
Keywords
Where Sana Benefits is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Austin
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Sana Benefits business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Level-Funded Health Insurance Premiums: Sana offers level-funded health insurance plans to small and midsize businesses. Employers pay a predictable, level-funded premium that covers claims up to a cap, with stop-loss insurance protecting against catastrophic claims. If claims are lower than budgeted, employers receive a rebate or credit.
- Self-Funded Plan Administration: For self-funded employers, Sana administers the health plan and charges administrative fees while employers fund claims directly. Sana negotiates provider pricing and manages care navigation, passing savings to employers.
- Ancillary Benefits: Sana bundles ancillary benefits including dental, vision, disability, life insurance, 401k, and HSA through partner integrations (Beam, VSP, Principal, Human Interest, Lively), generating referral or commission revenue.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Level-funded medical plans for small businesses with potential end-of-year rebates |
| Other | Monthly | Broker commission model |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Sana Benefits product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sana Benefits provides level-funded and self-funded health insurance plans for small and midsize businesses, combining traditional health benefits administration with an integrated virtual primary care service (Sana Care). The company focuses on delivering affordable, technology-enabled health coverage and care navigation to employers that typically struggle with rising group-health costs.
Product overview
Sana Benefits offers a unified health benefits platform for small and midsize businesses, combining self-funded and level-funded health insurance plans with embedded virtual-first primary care through Sana Care. The platform provides medical, dental, and vision coverage with nationwide provider access (1.2 million+ providers), no out-of-network fees, and $0 virtual primary care. Sana Care serves as the built-in primary care and care navigation layer, offering unlimited messaging with dedicated care teams. The product suite also includes advanced primary care through Sana MD. Sana distributes through brokers and digital platforms, with recent expansion through PerfectQuote partnerships for broker quoting capabilities.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Sana Care: Virtual-first primary care and care navigation service offering unlimited messaging with a dedicated care team, medical care, prescriptions, and care plans from the comfort of home at no cost to members.
- Sana MD
Products and services
- Sana Health Plans Level-funded and self-funded group health insurance plans sold to small and midsize employers (typically 10–500 employees), providing major medical, prescription, and preventive coverage with predictable monthly contributions and stop-loss protection.
- Sana Care Integrated virtual primary care service included with Sana health plans, giving members access to a dedicated care team, on-demand telemedicine visits, chronic-condition management, behavioral health support, and coordinated referrals at no additional out-of-pocket cost.
- Sana Ancillary Benefits Supplementary employee benefits such as dental, vision, life, short- and long-term disability, and accident/critical-illness coverage that employers can bundle with Sana Health Plans to round out their benefits package.
- PerfectQuote Digital quoting, comparison, and enrollment platform that allows licensed insurance brokers to model Sana plan designs, generate proposals, and bind coverage for small-group clients.
Quantifiable outcome
- 20% lower cost than traditional health insurance options
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Sana Benefits
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Sana Benefits technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature3 records
Sana Benefits partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.
- PerfectQuotecorePerfectQuote, a cloud-based group health benefits quoting platform, partnered with Sana in March 2026 to distribute Sana's level-funded medical plans through PerfectQuote's digital RFP platform. The partnership enables Sana to expand its broker relationships and reach more small and midsize businesses through a digital distribution channel, while PerfectQuote grows its network of carrier partners. Both companies are Austin, Texas-based and were founded in 2017.
- PlushCarecorePlushCare provides virtual primary care services to Sana members at no extra cost on most plans. PlushCare offers same-day appointments with board-certified doctors for primary care, mental health, and urgent care needs.
- Maven CliniccoreMaven Clinic provides virtual maternity care services to Sana members. Maven offers comprehensive support for family planning, pregnancy, and postpartum care through virtual coaches and clinicians.
- Headspace CarecoreHeadspace Care provides virtual mental health services to Sana members at no cost on most plans. Headspace offers meditation, coaching, and therapy sessions.
- LabcorpsecondaryLabcorp provides lab collection and testing services for Sana members through its nationwide network of labs.
- Vida HealthsecondaryVida provides virtual health coaching services to Sana members, including support for chronic conditions, mental health, and lifestyle changes.
- Blueberry PediatricssecondaryBlueberry Pediatrics provides virtual pediatric care services to Sana members, offering 24/7 access to pediatricians for children.
- 2nd.MDsecondary2nd.MD provides second opinion services to Sana members, connecting them with top specialists for complex medical conditions.
- Sword HealthsecondarySword Health provides virtual physical therapy services to Sana members, offering digital physical therapy programs for musculoskeletal conditions.
- Beam BenefitssecondaryBeam provides dental insurance to Sana members as part of ancillary benefit offerings.
- VSP VisionsecondaryVSP Vision provides vision insurance to Sana members as part of ancillary benefit offerings.
- Principal FinancialsecondaryPrincipal Financial provides disability and life insurance to Sana members as part of ancillary benefit offerings.
- Human InterestsecondaryHuman Interest provides 401k retirement plan services to Sana members and employers as an ancillary partner.
- LivelysecondaryLively provides Health Savings Account (HSA) services to Sana members, enabling employees to save pre-tax dollars for medical expenses.
- Modern TreasurycoreSana implemented Modern Treasury's payment reconciliation platform to streamline payment reconciliation and automate complex bank account reconciliation across multiple financial systems. This partnership addresses payments infrastructure challenges, particularly during M&A activity in the benefits administration sector.
- Healthsmart NetworksecondarySana participates in the Healthsmart network as an affiliate network provider, allowing practices to bill Sana based on Healthsmart's contracted rates.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Sana Benefits competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Gravie: Gravie is a Minneapolis-based health benefits platform targeting small and midsize employers with level-funded medical plans, dental/vision, and HSA/FSA administration. It competes head-to-head with Sana on the same SMB employer segment with a comparable direct-plus-broker distribution model.
- Centivo: Centivo offers self-funded health plans designed specifically for small and midsize employers, partnering with provider networks to lower costs and bundling primary care-style navigation. It is one of the closest direct comps to Sana in target customer, plan structure, and tech-enabled positioning.
Emerging players
- Justworks: Justworks is a PEO providing payroll, benefits (including group health insurance), HR, and compliance for small businesses. It overlaps with Sana on SMB health benefits distribution but differs by bundling payroll/HR rather than underwriting or administering its own plans.
- Gusto: Gusto is a payroll, HR, and benefits platform serving very small businesses, with health insurance brokered through partner carriers. It competes for the same small-business benefits dollar as Sana but does not underwrite its own plans or offer embedded primary care.
Broad incumbents
- Oscar Health: Oscar Health is a tech-enabled health insurer offering individual ACA, Medicare Advantage, and small group plans through a digital-first platform with concierge care navigation. It shares Sana's 'consumer-tech-meets-insurance' DNA but operates at larger scale and across multiple segments.
- Surest (UnitedHealth Group): Surest (formerly Bind) is UnitedHealth Group's employer-facing plan that eliminates deductibles and uses transparent pricing with care navigation — a similar 'cut out the middleman, transparent cost' thesis to Sana, but sold by a large incumbent to mid-market and large employers.
- UnitedHealthcare: UnitedHealthcare is the largest U.S. health insurer, offering fully-insured, level-funded, and self-funded group plans to employers of all sizes. It is the dominant incumbent Sana competes against for SMB employer business and broker relationships.
- Aetna (CVS Health): Aetna, a CVS Health company, is a top-5 U.S. health insurer offering group, individual, and Medicare plans with national provider networks. It is a key incumbent competitor for Sana's small group employer pipeline.
- Anthem (Elevance Health): Elevance Health (Anthem) operates Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in 14 states plus a national employee benefits business. It is a major incumbent competitor to Sana in the SMB and broker-distributed employer health benefits market.
- Kaiser Permanente: Kaiser Permanente is an integrated payer-provider system offering group health plans to employers, primarily in the western U.S. While its vertically integrated care model is structurally different, it is a relevant incumbent benchmark for Sana's embedded-care value proposition.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Sana Benefits social profiles
Digital presenceSana Benefits financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sana Benefits leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Sana Benefits funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds6 records
Investors10 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sana Benefits M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Sana Benefits
What does Sana Benefits do?
Sana Benefits provides level-funded and self-funded health insurance plans for small and midsize businesses, combining traditional health benefits administration with an integrated virtual primary care service (Sana Care). The company focuses on delivering affordable, technology-enabled health coverage and care navigation to employers that typically struggle with rising group-health costs.
Is Sana Benefits a public or private company?
Sana Benefits is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Sana Benefits founded?
Sana Benefits was founded in 2017. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Sana Benefits based?
Sana Benefits is headquartered in Austin, United States, in the North America region.
How does Sana Benefits make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Level-Funded Health Insurance Premiums are the primary driver. The others are self-Funded Plan Administration and ancillary Benefits.
Who are Sana Benefits's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Gravie and Centivo. Emerging players are Justworks and Gusto. Broad incumbents are Oscar Health, Surest (UnitedHealth Group), UnitedHealthcare, Aetna (CVS Health), Anthem (Elevance Health) and Kaiser Permanente.
Does Sana Benefits have an API?
No public API is recorded for Sana Benefits.
What industry is Sana Benefits in?
Sana Benefits's product category is Small Business Health Insurance. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAEALAH, Eligibility, Enrollment & Benefits Administration. Its NAICS code is 525120 and its SIC code is 6321.