We want to help the most financially vulnerable patients, and we selected a corporate form that proves it.
Pocketero is registered in Delaware as a Public Benefit Corporation. You can check for yourself. Visit the Delaware Business Entity Search and enter the Entity Name "Pocketero" or the File Number "6882051". You will find our "Entity Type" is a "Benefit Corporation". But what does that really mean?
UpCounsel says: "A public benefit corporation is a corporation created specifically to benefit the public in some way. The focus is on both profit and mission alignment. ... Benefit corporations must consider how their selections affect both shareholders and stakeholders." So who are Pocketero's "stakeholders"?
The Pocketero Certificate of Incorporation states:
"The specific public benefit purpose of the corporation is to serve those who pay out of pocket for healthcare."
In other words, patients who pay out of pocket are our "stakeholders". We must consider how our company's decisions affect those patients. Hopefully we can help them. At least we must not harm them.
We were not required to register as a Public Benefit Corporation. We could have registered as an ordinary corporation. In fact, registering as a Public Benefit Corporation means we have created legal obligations that wouldn't otherwise exist - obligations that benefit our stakeholders, not us. We chose that. We want to send a signal to everyone that we are something different. In a healthcare market that has come to be regarded as callous and even predatory, we are truly here to help.
Here's to the patients paying out of pocket for healthcare. Here's to reasonable prices and rational billing. Here's to brighter days ahead for the American healthcare market.
To learn more, please check out the problem, our solution, and our broader vision.