Mending, formerly Taro Health, will no longer serve as a health insurance carrier in 2027, Co-Founder Jeff Yuan told Becker’s. The company had offered on- and off-exchange plans in Maine and Oklahoma.
A June 8 news release from Maine’s Bureau of Insurance said Mending would not offer health plans in the state, as of Jan. 1, 2027, affecting 1,100 members. Those who purchased coverage through the state’s marketplace can opt for another plan during the open-enrollment period beginning in November. The state also encouraged small-employer groups to work with insurance brokers and agents to weigh alternatives for next year. Mr. Yuan confirmed Mending is leaving Oklahoma as a carrier, as well.
But the company, founded in 2021, will still have a presence in the health insurance space — and is working with its competitors. At the beginning of 2026, the company launched Mending Access, a platform to help self-funded employers and third-party administrators integrate direct primary care into plans. DPC allows members to access all-inclusive primary care through a membership model.
Since the launch of Mending Access, 100,000 covered lives across employer-sponsored health plans now have access to DPC, according to a March 31 news release. Mr. Yuan said Mending has already worked with “dozens of self-funded employers around the country” through Mending Access.
“As a DPC technology-focused company, we’re better suited to provide a national network of direct primary care, [which] can be integrated into any employer health plan or TPA,” he said, adding that Mending will work with two ACA carriers in Maine and Oklahoma to power their DPC options. Mending anticipates announcing these partners later in June and will support members as they transition to a different plan.
Mr. Yuan said Mending’s ACA plans serve as a proof point as it helps other payers expand this model.
“The challenge with direct primary care is it’s designed not to play nicely with the system. It’s historically only cash-based, historically no fee-for-service claims, it’s membership only,” Mr. Yuan said. “Our existence on the ACA has proven that these two concepts can actually coexist. DPC is all about, ‘We don’t accept insurance.’ Well, that wasn’t true for us in Maine and Oklahoma.”
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