City Block has raised an additional $21 million in funding to support its work to partner with providers and payers to improve primary care for Medicare and Medicaid patients. The funding was announced in the most hype-laden press release I have seen in a while. Never a good sign.
https://www.pehub.com/2018/01/cityblock-health-scores-20-8-mln-series-a/Lets all share a moment of silence to honor hospitals, which, according to the American Hospital Association, saw uncompensated care costs rise to $38.3 billion in 2016, up about 8% from 2015, but still just a fraction of the excessive profits garnered by health systems from overpricing and the excessive costs they incur due to overpaying management.
http://www.aha.org/content/17/2017-uncompensated-care-factsheet.pdfEHR and practice management software vendor Allscripts is acquiring competitor Practice Fusion for $100 million in cash, starting a likely wave of consolidation among EHR vendors. Now that most systems and practices have an EHR, growth is solely to come from stealing from competitors, or buying them. Not good news in the long run for customers, who will face higher prices, and whose already dismal satisfaction with most of these products won't likely be improved.
https://ehrintelligence.com/news/allscripts-to-acquire-practice-fusion-in-100m-cash-deal?elqTrackId=a342f0a679ce48518de1ca05fc7f38f4&elq=314ca00a85dd4425a20fc95dbce40475&elqaid=4387&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=4065Connecture, a public company which provides software that facilitates health insurance exchanges, is being acquired at a puny 35 cents a share by a private equity firm. This stock once traded at $12 a share. Should be a clear warning about the dangers of small companies going public.
https://www.pehub.com/2018/01/francisco-partners-to-buy-connecture/You may have seen some stories about how drug manufacturers have been exercising “restraint” in keeping their 2018 price increases under 10%. This makes me sick. These companies are raising prices with absolutely no cost justification, this is purely generating higher profits. They should be pilloried, not lauded.
About this Blog
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.