Today on Health in 2 Point 00, Jess and I talk about Andreessen Horowtiz’s new ventures and the reemergence of Tiger Global in Health Tech. Some big deals for Episode 237: Medable receives 304 million in Series D bringing their total up to $521 million; Zerigo health gets $43 million, bringing their total up to $67 million; Click Therapeutics receives 52 million, but with side deals their total rises to $100 million; Workit Health gets $112 million, bringing their total to $138 million. Among Horowtiz’s new ventures, Patina gets 57 million despite not having launched yet, and Marley Medical gets $9 million. – Matthew Holt
#Healthin2Point 00, Episode 236 | HLTH 2021, Oak Street, 23andMe, Babylon Health, and Everlywell
Today on Health in 2 Point 00, Jess and I catch up after HLTH 2021. Some massive deals in Episode 356: Oak Street acquires Rubicon MD for 190 million, 130 in cash; 23andMe acquires Lemonade (a virtual care and drug delivery company) for 400 million – 300 million in stocks and 100 million in cash; Babylon Health’s SPAC deal, 4.2 billion in market cap now; Everlywell acquires Natalist – their third acquisition in 6 months. – Matthew Holt
WTF Health: Inside Scoop – Medicaid Mental Health Startup Brave Health Lands $10M
By JESSICA DaMASSA, WTF HEALTH
Healthcare startups serving the Medicaid population are FINALLY catching the attention of investors and, this time, it’s for improving access to mental health services. Brave Health’s CEO Anna Lindow and I catch up in-person at HLTH 2021 – under super-secret embargo – to talk about Brave’s $10M Series B funding which was just announced today.
We get into Brave Health’s virtual-first approach to therapy, psychiatry, and outpatient addiction services, its tech underpinnings (which Anna hopes makes her services feel like “magic” to patients and providers alike), and the best-and-most-challenging parts about working with Medicaid plans.
This funding round, which takes Brave Health’s total funding to over $20M, should help with surmounting one of Anna’s biggest challenges: the extra effort required to expand to new states and the new set of Medicaid requirements and regulations that meet her every time she crosses state lines. Still, Brave Health has already expanded into 10 states in two years and, when utilized by Medicaid case managers, providers, and plans, is making a real impact on outcomes and cost of care. We dive into the details about meeting the mental health needs of a population that has typically been misunderstood and marginalized, and talk more about the nuances of supporting innovation and investment in solutions for people with Medicaid.
Walmart Picks Transcarent: Tullman on First ‘Everyday Low Prices’ Offer for Self-Insured Employers
By JESSICA DaMASSA, WTF HEALTH
Walmart is looking to scale its healthcare business in a brand-new way: setting its sights on self-insured employers. Today the retail giant announced a go-to-market partnership with Transcarent that will make its “everyday low price” prescription drugs and healthcare services available to self-insured employers for the very first time. Transcarent’s Executive Chairman & CEO Glen Tullman drops in to give us the inside story on the deal with Walmart, what it means for the industry, and how it could once-and-for-all ignite the ‘disruption of the payer’ that we’ve been waiting for since JP Morgan, Berkshire Hathaway, and Amazon came together to found Haven.
Transcarent and Glen are hell-bent on re-making the healthcare payment model by eliminating as many middlemen as possible, reshaping the health and care experience along the way. So, what does this partnership with Walmart mean for that mission and for Transcarent? Is this “THE Deal” we’ll look back on as the one that catapulted Transcarent into a new phase of growth? Remember when Glen’s last company, Livongo, shot into the stratosphere after its deal with CVS Health? I ask Glen if he’s running the same play in a much bigger game and finally concede: Transcarent is NOT a healthcare navigator!
#Healthin2Point00, Episode 235 | Walgreens Health + VillageMD & CareCentrix, plus more deals
Today on Health in 2 Point 00, Noom launches a mental health offering, Noom Mood, Headspace partners with Waze to offer meditation while you drive, and we have one for the Press Release Hall of Fame where Dario Health announces a major partnership with a major national health plan— but doesn’t say who it is. We have some massive deals on Episode 235: Walgreens launches Walgreens Health, acquires a controlling stake of VillageMD, AND acquires a majority stake of CareCentrix; Intelerad acquires Ambra Health for $250 million; Mindbody acquires ClassPass; and Sprinter Health gets $33 million – even though their business model makes no sense. —Matthew Holt
#Healthin2Point00, Episode 234 | An M&A and shedloads more money!
Today on Health in 2 Point 00, the word is SHEDLOAD. On Episode 235, Jess and I talk about the scoop on an M&A and shedloads more money in today’s health tech funding climate. First up, Lark gets $100 million, bringing its total to $185 million. How much more money can we throw at a chronic condition management platform? Next, Scottish remote patient monitoring company Current Health gets acquired by Best Buy. TrialSpark raises $156 million, working on developing drugs via their clinical trials software, Twin Health raises $140 million to run clinical trials in silico in “digital twins,” and virtual care GI company Oshi Health gets $23 million. —Matthew Holt
#Healthin2Point00, Episode 233 | Another $2B in deals, including Devoted’s whopping valuation
Today on Health in 2 Point 00, we’re thinking about changing our name to Health in 2 Billion 00. Devoted Health confirmed its $11 billion valuation, bumping it to $12 billion after you count the additional $1.2 billion coming in. Now onto the other 2 billion in deals, BetterUp raises $300 million in a Series C, bringing their total to $569.8 million for performance coaching and resilience training. Honor is growing fast – it raises $370 million ($300M of that is debt), bringing their total to $625M. Elemy, formerly called Sprout, raises $219 million, for children’s behavioral health. Finally, MindMaze raises $125 million, bringing their total to $235 million, working on gamifying digital neurotherapeutics. —Matthew Holt
State of Connecticut’s New ‘Episodes-of-Care Health Plan’ Could Be Key to Scaling Value-Based Care
By JESSICA DaMASSA, WTF HEALTH
Signify Health (NYSE: SGFY) has called their approach “Value-Based Care 2.0” and, today, they’ve received an important designation from CMS that could set an exciting precedent for scaling up episodes-of-care, value-based models for the under 65 commercial health insurance market. The plan to receive this important approval as an Advanced Alternative Payment Model (AAPM) is the State of Connecticut’s health plan – a massive plan that covers the State’s 220,000 employees and retirees. To talk about what this first-of-its-kind approval signals for the future of value-based payment models are the State of Connecticut’s Comptroller Kevin Lembo and Signify Health’s CEO Kyle Armbrester.
What’s so important here is the combination of episodes-of-care (which is like value-based care-lite) and the under-65 market (which is not as rich with value-based care case studies as the over-65 Medicare market). That a State government with a massive population of covered lives AND a vested interest in helping keep local hospitals and health systems vibrant economic engines in the community is leading the way on this novel payment model design is significant. And, Comptroller Lembo gives us the details about how he’s viewing it as a win-win – after quite a few battles along the way. To win in health innovation, you’ve got to follow the dollar! Tune into this chat to see where it’s headed as episodes-of-care models get a huge boost from CMS.
#Healthin2Point00, Episode 232 | Cue Health goes public + funding for Stellar, eVisit, & Neuroglee
Today on Health in 2 Point 00, Jess and I are at UCSF – we’ll be providing color commentary for the UCSF Health Awards, so tune in tonight for that. On Episode 232, Jess asks me about more deals including Stellar Health raising $60 million, Cue Health going public (and stealing the HLTH ticket), and eVisit raising $45 million for its telehealth solution. Finally, Neuroglee raises $10 million in an Alzheimer’s play. —Matthew Holt
#Healthin2Point00, Episode 231 | Pager, Ovivia, Meru Health, and NOCD
It’s Telehealth Awareness Week! Today on Health in 2 Point 00, we cover Pager raising $70 million, bringing their total to $132.6 million. German-based company Ovivia gets $80 million, bringing their total to $127 million. Meru Health raises $38 million, and NOCD raises $33 million. —Matthew Holt
