Optum-al VBC expansion

Unbundling Optum.
Primary care battle. CVS acquisitions.

Can’t stop, won’t stop

Hi there,

We are only midway through January and we have already seen a flurry (pun intended since I live in the Northeast) of activity in healthcare. 

Companies such as CVS Health and Optum have taken center stage in the news — read on to learn about their recent healthcare moves.

The biggest news this week

Pharmacy giants are expanding into primary and specialty care through strategic acquisitions.

CVS has been making big moves lately to vertically integrate its existing pharmacy and insurance businesses with its newest venture into the primary care market. Chief among them is its new partnership with Carbon Health to offer primary and urgent care services within its retail locations. There has also been speculation this week that CVS is exploring an acquisition of primary care provider Oak Street Health, but the latest reports suggest a deal is unlikely. 

This would not be the retail pharmacy’s first attempt at growing its primary care business through M&A. CVS explored acquiring Cano Health last year (the deal fell through). However, the company will complete its acquisition of Signify Health, a home health provider, later this year. Additionally, CVS is investing in Monogram Health, an at-home kidney disease management company.

Where else is the healthcare giant investing? Check out  our CVS Health strategy map here.

Walgreens competes for market share 

CVS Health isn’t the only pharmacy retailer making moves of late. 

Shortly after becoming a majority investor in primary care provider VillageMD, Walgreens is set to acquire medical practice Summit Health in a $8.9B deal. Once this deal closes, the new medical practice conglomerate will become one of the largest independent provider groups in the US with 26 markets totaling 680 locations.  

These moves demonstrate the continued push by many high-profile pharmacies into fast-growing healthcare markets such as senior care, primary care, and home health.  

Check out our recent reports on  senior care and  home health for more insight into these spaces.   

More VBC brought to you by Optum 

In its earnings call this month, UnitedHealth Group’s CEO said that an anticipated 4M patients will be served under various value-based care models provided by Optum this year. If achieved, this would add 1.8M more patients to the company’s 2022 total. 

Optum has doubled down on its value-based care partnerships of late. In the last two years, the UnitedHealth Group subsidiary has joined forces with HealthEdge to support its payer business in transitioning to value-based care and has also started providing value-based care to patients at select Walmart clinics.

As Optum continues to diversify its offerings to patients in the healthcare services space, we dug into its expansion in areas such as home health, senior care, and even clinical trials design and real world evidence.  

Check out  the full report here.

Mark your calendars

All of this discussion on digital health activity probably has you asking, what happened to the digital health marketplace in 2022? 

Well here is the good news, we will be releasing our State of Digital Health 2022 report next week. It will have 140+ pages of data and analysis for you to peruse. To whet your appetite, review pages 78-89 of our State of Venture 2022 Report that cover the digital health market.

Stay healthy,

Scott J. Dunn

P.S. Thank you Anjalika for your help compiling the newsletter this week! 

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NEWS

Watch out. A new study published in JAMA Psychiatry found that wrist wearables with accelerometry features could help detect poor sleep quality, anxiety, and pain after traumatic stress exposure such as motor vehicle collisions. Researchers observed that changes in rest-activity rhythms were associated with these factors.

JAMA Psychiatry
 

Care coordination moves. Teladoc is launching a new care coordination and management mobile app for its primary care, mental health, and chronic care management services. The app will be available to Teladoc’s current clients this month.

Healthcare Dive

Hinge house calls. Digital musculoskeletal clinic Hinge Health has launched a physical therapy house call service in Chicago, with aims to expand nationally in 18 to 24 months. The house call service will complement the MSK clinic’s virtual care offerings. 

MobiHealthNews

DEALS
 

Command center acquisition. LeanTaaS has acquired patient flow and command center company Hospital IQ, bringing both companies’ combined valuation to over $1B. The acquisition will help LeanTaaS optimize its scheduling and patient flow capabilities.  

ShiftKey scores. Dallas-based scheduling and credential management platform ShiftKey raised $300M in a round led by Lorient Capital. The round brings ShiftKey’s valuation to $2B.

Monogram’s new money. Monogram Health, an at-home care provider for polychronic kidney conditions, raised $375M in growth capital from CVS Health, Cigna Ventures, Humana, and more. The company offers in-home nephrology, primary care, chronic condition treatment, and benefits management services.

PERSPECTIVES
 

Data disparity dilemmas. This article discusses the disparities in outcomes of behavioral health and substance abuse disorder due to Social Determinants of Health (SDoH). To lower outcome disparities and address care gaps, the author suggests collecting health equity data. 

MedCityNews
 

Smartphone diagnosis potential. This article details the bottlenecks faced in widespread adoption of smartphone diagnostics — including the FDA’s lack of regulation on AI and ML-based medical devices preventing apps that rely on this tech from playing a larger role in diagnosis.

Becker’s Hospital Review