A SORENSON IMPACT FUND
Disability Tech Innovation Will Democratize Access to SSA Disability Benefits and Unblock a Broken SSA Claims Process for Millions of Americans Annually
Washington, D.C. – August 20, 2024 – Enable Ventures, the first impact venture fund dedicated to closing the disability wealth gap while achieving competitive, market-rate returns, today announced an investment in Mindset Care, which has raised a total of $13 million. Mindset Care is an AI-enabled enterprise that modernizes the application process for Social Security Disability assistance services that cater to our country’s most economically vulnerable populations, including those with disabilities. Alongside other investors, including Science and Wellington Access Ventures, Mindset Care’s funding is expected to help millions of Americans gain access to their benefits via Mindset Care’s cutting-edge technology and human-centered AI that simplifies, expedites, and democratizes Social Security benefits applications for people with disabilities.
Bringing the Social Security Administration (SSA) into the 21st Century
Mindset Care’s solution solves crucial problems for the millions of applicants per year who struggle to access the Social Security program. Many Americans who are eligible for benefits cannot gain access because of clerical error on the initial application due to lack of language proficiency, disability, or education level; mailing address unreliability associated with housing insecurity; and lack of access to legal representation.
By the SSA’s own statistics, at least 10,000 people die each year while their applications for disability benefits are being processed. Another 8,000 applicants file for bankruptcy. Mindset’s AI-enabled infrastructure solves these friction points for anyone with disabilities to apply and helps relieve the bottleneck of the SSA’s claims process for what is expected to be more than 1.6 million Americans annually.
“Mindset Care’s AI-backed technology is breaking the barrier to the Social Security disability application process for the millions of Americans who are eligible for the program, economically vulnerable, and lack support in accessing vital assistance. We are proud to support a company working hard to democratize access at scale to the benefits people with disabilities are eligible for and entitled to,” said Regina “Gina” Kline, Founder and Managing Partner of Enable Ventures. “As the leading alternative investment firm focused on closing the disability wealth gap, our team recognizes the ingenuity of Mindset Care’s solution. Together with our domain expertise, unique interdisciplinary experience, and Mindset’s groundbreaking innovation, we will work to relieve an administrative burden for the SSA while providing people in need with the benefits they rightfully deserve to live better lives.”
SSA’s claims backlog and its implications are reaching a tipping point. Since 2010, the number of beneficiaries has gone up by approximately 25%, while SSA’s administrative funding for operations has decreased by approximately 19%. For the 2023 federal fiscal year, Congress approved a budget that was $645 million less than the SSA had requested, and, over the past decade, SSA officials say that budget appropriations have only covered the rising fixed costs of the administration, leaving little to alleviate the growing customer service problems.
Kline added: “Today, there are millions of Americans who are unaware of their eligibility for SSA disability claims and unfortunately, even when they become aware, don’t know how to access the benefits. There are other Americans who are eligible for benefits, have applied, and have been stuck in a holding pattern that has placed their families at risk. Mindset Care’s solutions will help people who are housing insecure, experiencing serious mental illnesses, lack literacy skills to fill out the application and those who were formerly incarcerated. We are hopeful that their solutions will translate into real systems change in disability benefits.”
As a result of these issues, this past Spring, SSA convened a two-part series as part of its National Disability Forum, entitled “How Artificial Intelligence May Affect the Landscape of Social Security,” in which it convened experts on AI, disability, and technology to discuss ways to improve the safe, ethical, and efficient use of AI technology to resolve its customer service challenges.
About Enable Ventures
Enable Ventures is the first impact venture capital firm designed to close the disability wealth gap through market rate investment. The company sources, attracts, and invests in world class disability tech impact deals with a focus on AI innovation, and partners with its portfolio companies to scale impact as they scale revenue. Enable Ventures is committed to demonstrating through its category-defining investment strategy, that disability tech has the potential to create measurable impact and financial alpha while changing the way technology is made from the outset. Founded and led by Regina “Gina” Kline, the investor, entrepreneur, and civil rights lawyer and supported by SmartJob, a platform to attract disability deal flow and support and build the disability innovation ecosystem, Enable Ventures is part of the Sorenson Impact Platform of Funds and is backed by world-renowned entrepreneur, business leader, and societal innovator Jim Sorenson and Sorenson Impact’s vast, world-class experience in impact and market-rate investment. For more information, please visit www.enableventures.vc.
Media Contact:
Cindy Stoller
Confluence Partners
917-331-0418