Emerging Healthcare Investment Opportunity: This Insurance Venture Could Soon Eclipse Competitors Like Hims, Hers, and UnitedHealth
Oscar Health and Hims & Hers Health: Tech-Driven Disrupters in Healthcare
Oscar Health and Hims & Hers Health are two innovative companies transforming the healthcare industry with their direct-to-consumer (D2C) strategies. Both companies leverage technology to provide healthcare services more conveniently to consumers, bypassing traditional intermediaries.
Oscar Health, a digital-first, direct-to-consumer health insurance platform, combines technology and concierge-like services to simplify the user experience, improve transparency, and increase accessibility in health insurance. The company offers health plans primarily in the individual market, with digital tools such as 24/7 virtual care, care teams for each member, and a consumer-friendly digital storefront for health products. Revenues come from insurance premiums, and the company aims to balance growth with profitability by expanding coverage, increasing premiums moderately, and reducing loss ratios in partnership with providers and consumer brands.
In contrast, Hims & Hers Health is a telehealth platform offering a variety of personalized healthcare products and services—including prescriptions and mental health care—through a subscription-based model with an emphasis on affordability, privacy, and specialized consumer needs. The company's focus is on specific segments like mental health, sexual health, and weight management, offering telemedicine services to its users.
Both companies represent innovative entrants aiming to disrupt traditional healthcare delivery and insurance models by creating digital, accessible, personalized experiences for users in the health sector. Oscar Health is a health insurer with tech-enabled services, while Hims & Hers is a telehealth and wellness platform focused on direct product and service delivery.
Oscar Health has a niche focus on Affordable Care Act (ACA) members and small employers not covered by legacy health insurance providers. The company's primary market of traditional ACA members totals roughly 21 million. By expanding into individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements (ICHRAs) with small and medium-sized businesses (SMB), Oscar could open up its total customer pool to 75 million.
The upside for Oscar's growth prospects appears strong based on its metrics. Oscar's revenue line has been steepening over the last five years, indicating growth. The company's market capitalization is roughly in line with its cash balance, and Oscar has been experiencing rising cash flow and liquidity.
However, there are potential near-term headwinds at Oscar due to potential changes in the regulatory landscape related to the ACA. Wall Street may be pricing in potential significant downside from these changes. As of June 17, 2025, Oscar Health (OSCR) has a share price that is down by 0.12%.
Hims & Hers Health (HIMS) has seen a 138% increase in share price in 2025. The company's expansion into new markets and services has driven this growth. Some legacy insurers have invested in technology but may not have fully integrated it into their original business models, providing an opportunity for companies like Hims & Hers to capture market share.
In conclusion, Oscar Health and Hims & Hers Health are two tech-driven, consumer-centric companies transforming healthcare with D2C, digital-first strategies. While they differ in their core offerings, both aim to disrupt traditional healthcare delivery and insurance models by creating digital, accessible, personalized experiences for users in the health sector.
