Free & Clear

What Free & Clear does

Free & Clear is a Seattle-based, privately held for-profit company founded in 2003 that delivers phone-based tobacco cessation treatment programs to institutional buyers — specifically employers, health plans, and government agencies. The company operates a clinical services model in which trained counselors engage members telephonically through structured quit-smoking protocols, with the Quit For Life Program representing the flagship offering. The business model is B2B/B2G: health plans and large employers contract with Free & Clear to provide covered tobacco cessation benefits to their populations, while government agencies procure the service for public-sector health programs. Revenue mechanics are contract-driven, multi-year, and tied to enrolled-member populations, typical of the institutional wellness vendor segment.

The company is operationally substantial, with 501-1,000 employees, suggesting a sizeable clinical delivery workforce supporting phone-based counseling at scale. In 2010 the company closed a $10 million funding round led by Kaiser Permanente — a strategic investor that is also a natural flagship customer given its integrated payer-provider model — alongside Polaris Partners and Three Arch Partners, both established healthcare-focused venture firms. This investor mix signals a deliberate strategy to embed the service within large payer and provider systems rather than pursue direct-to-consumer distribution.

The product is built on a clinically validated behavioral counseling methodology rather than a software-first or AI-driven architecture; the technology stack is delivery-and-protocol-led, with the core asset being the codified treatment protocol and the operational infrastructure to staff and route calls at population scale. No proprietary AI/ML capabilities, data flywheel mechanics, or software platform extensions are referenced in the available evidence, indicating a services-led rather than technology-platform business. Geographic footprint is U.S.-focused and there are no disclosed international operations.

Name

Free & Clear

Website

https://freeclear.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Free & Clear is a Seattle-based provider of phone-based tobacco cessation treatment programs sold to employers, health plans, and government agencies as covered wellness benefits, founded in 2003.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tobacco Cessation Services

NAICS

Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers (621420), All Other Outpatient Care Centers (621498)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Specialty Outpatient Facilities, Nec (8093)

akta.pro primary industry

Substance Use Prevention & Recovery Lifestyle Education (Non-clinical) (EDAAAHAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Substance Use, Addiction & Harm Reduction Health Departments (HLAJAAAM)

Keywords

• Tobacco cessation services
• Behavioral health coaching
• Phone-based health coaching
• Employee wellness programs
• Clinical quitline services

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Core offering

Free & Clear provides phone-based tobacco treatment services designed to help individuals quit smoking and using tobacco. The company delivers evidence-based behavioral coaching and cessation programs on behalf of institutional clients, serving employer wellness programs, health plan populations, and government agency quit-line initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Phone-Based Tobacco Treatment Program Telephonic tobacco cessation coaching and behavioral treatment program delivered on behalf of employers, health plans, and government agencies to help individuals quit smoking and using tobacco.
• Employer Wellness Cessation Service Tobacco cessation program contracted by employers to provide phone-based coaching to employees as part of workplace wellness initiatives and benefits offerings.
• Health Plan Cessation Service Phone-based tobacco treatment delivered to health plan members as a covered population health service, supporting HEDIS, quality measure, and population health objectives.
• Government Public Quitline Service Telephonic tobacco cessation quitline operated on behalf of state and federal government agencies to serve general public populations seeking help quitting tobacco.

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Emerging players

• Wellbe: Workplace-wellness platform that includes smoking-cessation modules sold to employers. Partial overlap as a wellness-vendor competitor bundling cessation into broader benefit offerings.
• BeHealth Solutions: Digital therapeutics vendor offering telehealth-based substance-use and behavioral-health programs. Adjacent emerging player pursuing some of the same employer and health-plan customers.

Direct peers

• Pelago (formerly QuitGenius): Digital tobacco-cessation platform sold to employers and health plans. Closest comparable as a vendor pursuing the same buyer segments with a modern, app-first alternative to telephonic coaching.
• National Jewish Health: Operates telephonic and online tobacco-cessation programs sold to employers, health plans, and state governments. Closely comparable as a clinical-grade cessation vendor serving overlapping institutional buyers.
• Carrot (Pivot Breathe): Digital smoking-cessation program embedded in employer and health-plan benefits. Competes head-to-head with Free & Clear for the same institutional contracts with a mobile-first delivery model.
• Mayo Clinic — Nicotine Dependence Center: Operates a tobacco-treatment program combining counseling, pharmacotherapy, and digital tools. Comparable as a clinical-grade cessation service provider competing for health-plan and employer contracts.

Broad incumbents

• Optum (UnitedHealth Group): Operates quitline and behavioral-health services at scale inside UnitedHealth's payer business. Historically absorbed Alere Wellbeing (which had ties to Free & Clear) and is the dominant incumbent in telephonic cessation.
• Truth Initiative: Nonprofit operator of the EX Program, a digital cessation platform sold to employers and health plans. Competes for the same institutional cessation contracts with a mission-driven, lower-cost model.
• RVO Health: Operates consumer health brands (including Everyday Health and behavioral-health content). Provides digital cessation and wellness content as part of a broader portfolio competing for employer and plan sponsors.
• American Lung Association: Runs the Freedom From Smoking program and other cessation resources delivered to consumers, employers, and health systems. Indirect competitor in the same end market with broad brand reach.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/alerewellbeing
• Facebookfacebook.com/alerehealth

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors4 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Free & Clear