The news: Lab testing company Function Health has acquired Ezra, a startup that offers full-body MRI scans. The new entity is launching a 22-minute AI-powered whole-body scan for $499, a steep cut from Ezra’s prior $1,500 price point for a scan that took an hour. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Zooming out: Digital health companies selling full-body medical scans have been attracting investor funding amid rising consumer interest in getting preventive screenings to detect cancers and other diseases even when they are symptom-free.
The preventative wellness trend has been fueled by social media influencers and celebrities endorsing whole-body MRI scans. The most well-known player in this space is probably Prenuvo, whose $2,500 scan has been promoted by Kim Kardashian. Prenuvo offers free or discounted scans to celebrities and influencers, per the NYT.
Yes, but: Cost is the biggest deterrent to more people getting full-body scans—and a look under the hood reveals that the Function/Ezra new offering will still be too pricey for most consumers.
- It’s being marketed as a $499 scan, but a Function membership costs $499 per year on top.
- That price point will be unaffordable for the average person since insurance doesn’t cover full-body scans for healthy patients.
The final word: The current wellness craze in the US has a range of providers and health/med tech players rolling out services designed to help people build not only longer, but healthier lives.
The problem is that many of these buzzy technologies and swanky clinics only exacerbate health inequities—most people can’t afford them. Marketers and influencers promoting “worried well” offerings should also remind consumers of lower-cost, more accessible preventive health services that too many are skipping out on.
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