I am co-f0under of a company that manages cell and gene therapy for health plans. Cell therapy has made a big difference for many cancer patients but like all new therapies it has risks that often aren't apparent until there has been significant use. The FDA has now required a new safety warning because of the possibility that the therapies are associated with T cell cancers.
Mental health company Headway makes, well, headway, by raising an impressive $125 million round of new capital. The company connects patients with mental health providers and facilitates providers working with payers. Still a lot of money floating around out there and sketchy deals still getting done.
Two health care firms owned by private equity firms are merging in a transaction supposedly valued at $3 billion. HealthComp administers self-funded plans for employers and other groups and Virgin Pulse provides wellness and care management services.
NextGen, an electronic medical records firm, is being put out of its public company misery, as a PE firm will pay $1.6 billion for the one-time high-flier.
A number of companies which attracted large financing rounds during the epidemic have imploded when reality set in. The latest is Cano Health, which is a little surprising since it was a primary care center company, and others with similar models have been very successful. In any event, the public investors appear in for a big loss.
Another over-hyped digital health company screws shareholders who bought the hype, as Babylon Health has to bail itself out by going private, with nothing being returned to ordinary shareholders. The epidemic froth created a whole boatload of these situations, and the bill is coming due now.
For those who would like to read more on the crisis of fake and bad science, read this excellent report from the National Association of Scholars. just click this post.
CVS has finalized its $10.6 billion buyout of Oak Street health, which operates primary care centers for Medicare members. People may think CVS is a drug store company, but it bought Aetna a few years ago and Aetna provides the majority of revenue. CVS also owns a very large pharmacy benefit management division. Insurers increasingly own providers, partly to help manage costs, but mostly to skirt profit limits on insurance products. More unneeded and ill-advised consolidation in health care.
Option Care, a large home health care provider is acquiring Amedisys, another large player in that market, for $3.6 billion, as consolidation ramps up across health care, likely meaning higher prices for consumers.
Another example of over-priced companies trying to find some way to survive in the post-epidemic financial world. Transcarent, which does something, somehow to "access high quality, affordable care" is buying the virtual care part of cutesy-named 98point6, one of ten million virtual care companies, none of whom have any competitive differentiator. Just ask TeleDoc. Supposedly the deal is for around $100 million. Very, very hard to believe, but desperate times take desperate measures. Oh, and did I mention there is some AI involved somehow?
The Healthy Skeptic is a website about the health care system, and is written by Kevin Roche, who has many years of experience working in the health industry. Mr. Roche is available to assist health care companies through consulting arrangements through Roche Consulting, LLC and may be reached at khroche@healthy-skeptic.com.
The Healthy Skeptic is a website about the health care system, and is written by Kevin Roche, who has many years of experience working in the health industry. Mr. Roche is available to assist health care companies through consulting arrangements through Roche Consulting, LLC and may be reached at khroche@healthy-skeptic.com.