Blue Cross affiliate Stella Development invests in startups

Aug. 21--A development company that's owned by the corporate parent for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota has made two investments this year in health care startups, including a deal announced this month to back a sports medicine company based in Georgia.

Stella Development, the Blue Cross affiliate, did not announce financial terms for either deal.

The investment this month backs Fusionetics, a company that's focused on "musculoskeletal performance health care" and is part of a sports medicine, research and performance facility in Texas.

"At Stella, our strategy is driven in large part by our desire to combine innovative solutions with an ability to make tangible impact on those we serve," said Mike Zeman, vice president and chief growth officer at Stella, in a news release about the Fusionetics deal.

Dr. Mike Clark, founder and chief executive at Fusionetics, said in the release that the goal with Stella is to "collaborate on new approaches to help even more individuals lower their risk for long-term musculoskeletal disorders."

Eagan-based Blue Cross, the state's largest nonprofit health insurer, is operated by a parent company that changed its name over the past year from Aware Integrated Inc. to Stella.

In May, the subsidiary called Stella Development acquired a minority stake in Talix Inc., which provides information technology that allows insurers and health care providers to assess the financial risk with groups of patients.

In a news release at the time, Stella said the products from Talix "transform complex data into actionable intelligence that drives improved coding efficiency and accuracy -- leading to better patient outcomes, more accurate reimbursements and reduced costs."

Fusionetics offers applications accessed through computers or personal digital devices that are "designed to reduce injuries, decrease pain, optimize performance and speed recovery," the company said in a statement.

Last year, Stella reported net income of $50 million on revenue of about $6.5 billion, according to a report this month from Moody's Investors Service. Stella has invested in startups in Minnesota, including a company called Learn to Live, which sells access to online courses for people struggling with mental health issues.

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