Private equity firm TA Associates has made a minority investment in Retriever Medical/Dental Payments (Retriever), a provider of payment technology and merchant services to healthcare providers. Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Founded in 1993 by Frank Shiner, Retriever is one of the largest payments companies focused exclusively on the healthcare provider market, serving 15,000 physician practices, dental practices, veterinary clinics and hospitals throughout the US. Through its proprietary software, Practice Management BRIDGE, Retriever enables its clients to integrate payment processing workflow and data with the healthcare provider’s existing practice management or ERP system. Retriever also provides tools to healthcare providers that accelerate cash flow and reduce uncollectible balances through the company’s credit, debit and ACH acceptance capabilities. Retriever is based in Valhalla, New York.
“Retriever offers a compelling platform investment opportunity for TA Associates,” says M Roy Burns, a Managing Director at TA Associates who will join the company’s Board of Directors. “Retriever is targeting the very large healthcare provider market and seeks to alleviate many inefficiencies of that space through its payments service offering and proprietary technology solution. The company’s focus on healthcare creates expertise that other diversified payment organisations struggle to replicate and we expect Retriever to expand on this advantage by developing and acquiring capabilities that solve the pain points of providers operating in today’s complex healthcare environment.”
“For over two decades, we have built a high growth payments and technology business on the basis of listening to our clients and doing the right thing to serve them,” says Dominick Colabella, President and CEO of Retriever Medical/Dental Payments. “The healthcare market is extremely complex and providers need a partner who understands their needs and has the solutions to make the payment experience seamless. Our partnership with TA Associates provides additional resources to accelerate our trajectory and further develop Retriever’s payment solutions. We are eager to apply their valuable experience, deep industry network and insight to our strategic vision.”
Retriever addresses the patient responsibility portion of medical expense, which is accelerating in the US due to increased penetration of high deductible healthcare plans and growing co-payments, as insurers and employers seek to rein in healthcare costs. Healthcare providers are challenged to get paid for the services they provide, with estimates of bad debt running from 30-50% of patient receivables according to McKinsey & Company. Electronic payments represent a more efficient and cost effective means of collecting patient payments.
“The transition from cash and check to electronic forms of payment continues to accelerate and offers significant advantages to patients and providers,” says Roger B Kafker, a Managing Director at TA Associates who will also join the Retriever Medical/Dental Payments Board of Directors. “As healthcare organisations are recognising the importance of collecting payments effortlessly, integrating their patient payment methods seamlessly into practice management systems becomes essential to eliminating duplicate administrative efforts. We believe that Retriever is well-positioned to assist healthcare providers with these needs, and we are excited to partner with Dominick and his team to grow Retriever.”
