This story is part of Glossy’s week-long look at the state of luxury, exploring what consumers and brands are deeming worthy of investment in 2024. To see all the stories in the series, click here.
The Covid-19 pandemic created one of the first globally shared experiences in the modern era centered on humankind’s health and long-term survival. Along with countless other economic and societal changes, it shifted many of our shared values. Popular idioms like “cash is king” and “health is wealth” took on new meaning set against a backdrop of a global recession and rapidly spreading coronavirus. All at once, our health became the one luxury we couldn’t buy.
It also primed the American public for a rapidly growing cottage industry currently disrupting the American healthcare system: the rise of out-of-pocket preventative products and services.
“The pandemic catalyzed a substantial shift toward preventative health management, exposing the limitations of conventional healthcare systems and emphasizing the critical need for proactive health maintenance,” said David Hamlette, health and wellness analyst at Mintel market research company.
According to Mintel data, 89% of consumers have adopted new solutions to keep themselves healthy since 2020, with 72% of consumers using self-diagnostic tools, such as Covid tests and allergy tests, as well as glucose meters, blood pressure monitors, and personalized supplements. But perhaps the biggest new, health-related financial investment being made by consumers is in elective MRI scans, which have traditionally been used only in hospitals and through insurance.
Currently, a small group of well-funded businesses are in a gold rush to make annual MRI scans, which look for hundreds of ailments including cancer using magnets instead of radiation, a routine treatment for all adults. Meanwhile, more accurate mammograms, which use ultrasound technology for better imaging, telemedicine services, at-home disease detection kits, and longevity-focused supplement brands — including one from infamous tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson — are launching left and right.
“Our original cohort of customers is the very longevity-focused biohacker types who are very into health. They want to get data. They want to get a look inside their body,” said Emi Gal, founder and CEO of Ezra, a company that offers full-body MRI screening. “In the past few years, that transitioned more toward what we’re calling ‘the cancer conscious’, who are generally people who have had loved ones diagnosed with cancer and they’re now concerned about cancer [as well].”
Ezra’s full-body MRI scans screen 13 organs for cancer and 500 other ailments, then analyze the results using AI technology. The company launched in 2018 and has 18 locations in seven cities across the U.S., with 50 more locations planned for 2024. To scale, the company took on $21 million in investment earlier this year, co-led by VC firms Healthier Capital First and Mark Capital. So far, Ezra has raised a total of $41 million.
Ezra offers a full-body 60-minute screening for $1,950, a more thorough screening that includes the lungs for $2,500 and, most recently introduced, a 30-minute “Flash” MRI for $1,350. Ezra’s Gal told Glossy that a new $500 15-minute screening will be ready for the public in the next 24 months.
After the scan, patients review results within the Ezra app or with an Ezra representative, if there are worrisome findings. Findings are ranked from green, which means normal, to red, which means the patient should seek medical attention as soon as possible. Yellow denotes something worth exploring with one’s doctor when possible.
Gal told Glossy that the majority of consumers return every 18 months for a new scan, with 80% of new customers coming from referrals. The customer base is evenly split male and female, with an average age of 48, and primarily based in urban areas.
According to Google Trends, search interest in magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, reached an all-time high this April, and “full body MRI” searches have more than tripled over the past two years, reaching an all-time high this May. Meanwhile, “MRI cost” reached an all-time high this January.
Ezra’s biggest competition is Prenuvo, which was also founded in 2018. Prenuvo has raised more than $70 million so far and has 13 locations with 12 on the way. Its 60-minute full-body scan goes for $2,499, while a head and torso scan is $1,799 and a torso scan is $999. Similar to Ezra, the business is driven by word-of-mouth referrals, with a small percentage coming from celebrity endorsements from stars like Maria Menounos and Kim Kardashian.
“We believe that the best marketing is a really satisfied customer who is going to share that story and tell their friends and family about our service because they just saw so much value,” Alina Loani, vp of business development and strategic partnerships at Prenuvo, told Glossy. “For me, influencers are just the same as patients, but with a much louder voice.”
Prenuvo garnered many headlines this year for viral IG posts from the likes of Menounos and Kardashian, neither of which were paid. Prenuvo’s Loani told Glossy the company has never paid anyone to have a scan, but it occasionally comps the treatment in exchange for an honest review.
But medical experts have shared mixed opinions about the rise of elective MRI screenings. Perhaps the largest complaint is the cost, which both Ezra and Prenuvo are actively working to reduce, both companies told Glossy.
Another common complaint is inconclusive results, which could send a patient down what’s called a “care cascade.” In other words, the patient takes their results to their primary care physician, who will often order a second, insurance-backed MRI or CT scan focused on the potential issue, which will often be followed by blood tests, biopsies or removals. Or — like in the case of journalist Dhruv Khullar, who wrote about his experience for the New Yorker — they’ll come up with inconclusive results that will require yearly monitoring.
Context is another big downfall for first-timers. Without previous scans to compare one’s results, something unique to one’s body that is totally normal and healthy could appear to be abnormal compared to the average person. This is why annual scans are vital, with one’s results getting more accurate year-over-year.
Still, Ezra and Prenuvo scans are said to find cancer and other fatal conditions in 5-13% of patients, respectively.
President Joe Biden and Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris have taken notice of both the opportunity and its limited accessibility. In August, the Biden-Harris Administration awarded $9 million to groups giving access to life-saving cancer screenings in underserved communities.
But MRI scans are just one piece of this new sea change. In 2023, the FDA changed regulations around mammograms, revealing that conventional mammograms don’t fully detect cancer in those with “dense breast tissue,” which includes 50% of American women.
“People are waking up and realizing that the standard healthcare system isn’t working because it’s one size fits all,” said Jasmine Khorsandi, ultrasound sonographer and founder and CEO of SonoBreasts, a breast imaging company in California that uses ultrasound to detect breast masses like cancer. “The standard mammogram has radiation, and it misses 50% of breast cancer. It’s not enough.”
Khorsandi’s clients are often referrals from functional and holistic physicians who don’t want to expose patients to radiation. Her clients, including Gwyneth Paltrow and Demi Moore, are often so happy, they take to social media to spread breast health awareness. Her total breast ultrasound service is called Sonocine and costs $590.
Other screenings focused on women’s health include Qvin, an alternative to Pap smears that costs $29 for its A1c kit, which includes a menstrual pad worn by the user to collect and track menstrual blood. That’s then shipped to Qvin and tested for issues like HPV, cervical cancer, thyroid issues and anemia. Meanwhile, BodySpec is gaining in popularity, as well. The company offers bone density scans using Dexa Scan technology for around $40 a pop, as well as overall body mass analysis. Bone density scans are especially important for mature women who can suffer from conditions like osteoporosis.
On the cosmetic side of things sits Persana, a new telehealth service that provides instant access to plastic surgeons for troubleshooting issues and seeking treatment for cosmetic-related concerns. A 60-minute consultation with a physician costs $100.
Meanwhile, Perelel Health and Binto — which launched in 2020 and 2024, respectively — offer personalized supplements for women looking for support in reproductive health, menopause and other life changes. Most of Perelel’s supplement packs cost around $50 for a month supply, while Binto’s run between $36-$56 for 30 daily packs. They reach women, but Bryan Johnson, the tech mogul spending his fortune trying to reverse his physical age to internet fanfare, is trying to reach men. This year, he launched a line of supplements called Blueprint, which are said to be created with his longevity journey in mind. His daily supplements go for about $55 a month, while his Blueprint Stack, which includes supplements, snacks, protein powder and cooking oil to last one month, goes for $361.
Johnson gained international attention over the past year for documenting his longevity journey on YouTube by attempting to reverse his physical age through evocative biohacking techniques. They’ve ranged from vitamin injections and non-traditional sleep schedules to eating his last meal at 11 a.m. and taking 100 supplements a day. It’s been reported that he’s spending around $2 million per year in his endeavor. In many ways, he has become the face of biohackers in 2024, and his YouTube channel currently has more than a million followers.
It’s all part of a movement that values health above all else and, as the trend grown, becomes more and more accessible.
“The closest thing we have to a cure for cancer is early detection, and I’m not sure enough people understand how significant the difference in survival is between an early and a late cancer diagnosis,” Ezra’s Gal told Glossy. “My personal mission is to work really hard toward making these scans very affordable to ensure that anyone can get one. … I would like for this to not have to be a luxury for people, but to be the default.”
