Hooper Holmes
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Health risk assessment services |
| Founded | 1899 |
| Founder | William DeMattos Hooper, Bayard P. Holmes |
| Headquarters | Basking Ridge , United States |
Area served | United States, United Kingdom |
| Products | Paramedical examinations, blood testing (Heritage Labs), health risk assessments, telephone interviews for insurance underwriting |
Hooper Holmes Inc. operated as a nationwide provider of health risk assessment services within the United States, catering predominantly to the insurance, wellness, and healthcare industries through a network of 275 locations across the country and in the United Kingdom. Known commercially as Portamedic, it held the distinction of being the foremost supplier of examination services in the health insurance sector.
Established in 1899 in New York City under the name The National Insurance Information Bureau, the company was founded by William DeMattos Hooper and Bayard P. Holmes, who previously worked as an insurance claim investigator. Its corporate headquarters were situated in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. The firm earned accolades including the Early Adopter Award and Business Integration Award from the Association for Cooperative Operations Research and Development (ACORD).
Background
Hooper Holmes specialized in coordinating paramedical examinations for insurance companies to evaluate underwriting risks. Its Health Information Division (HID) was composed of four key units: Portamedic, which provided medical exams for insurers; Heritage Labs, focused on blood testing and later divested to CRLCorp; Health & Wellness, offering risk assessment services; and Hooper Holmes Services, conducting telephone interviews with insurance applicants. In 2013, Portamedic was divested to American Para Professional Systems, Inc.
The company also secured a long-term agreement with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to assist with clinical trials aimed at high-risk patient populations. Following a rebranding to Provant Health Solutions and relocation to Olathe, Kansas, Hooper Holmes voluntarily withdrew from the New York Stock Exchange in 2017 and transitioned to trading on OTCQX. On September 1, 2018, it initiated proceedings under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.