What You Should Know:
- Intermountain Healthcare and SCL Health, two leading nonprofit healthcare organizations, have signed a Letter of Intent to merge and create a model health system that provides high-quality, accessible, and affordable healthcare to more patients and communities in Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Colorado, Montana, and Kansas. The intention is that a definitive agreement will be finalized and signed by the end of 2021.
- The pending merger will employ more than 58,000
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CVS Caremark Expands Efforts to Tackle Health Disparities
What You Should Know:
- CVS Caremark announced an expansion of its efforts to address health disparities among patients, starting with certain conditions including sickle cell disease, HIV, and cardiovascular disease.
- CVS Caremark is working with its clients to create health equity strategies for PBM members with certain conditions that disproportionately affect patients of color. The company will also use its broad reach and collaborate with community partners to determine the
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Edifecs Acquires Talix to Expand Risk Adjustment Solution
What You Should Know:
- Edifecs, a global health IT provider announced it is acquiring Talix, a SaaS IT company, to expand Edifecs’ reach in the encounter management and risk adjustment space. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.
- The integration of Edifecs’ and Talix’s technologies will create an expanded risk adjustment solution with critical workflows and insights that improve efficiencies and directly support payer and provider collaboration.
Talix
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Tia Raises $100M to Build Modern Medical Home for Women
What You Should Know:
- Women's healthcare company Tia just announced a $100M series B round, representing one of the largest raises for a woman-led startup at the series B stage.
- Tia now provides whole-woman care to women throughout their entire lives via a blended virtual and in-person care model that fuses primary care, mental health, gynecological care and other wellness services like acupuncture. Backed by a care coordination team and proprietary software system, Tia delivers care
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Zelis Acquires Healthcare Transparency Leader Sapphire Digital
What You Should Know:
- Bain-backed digital health payments company, Zelis today announced the acquisition of Sapphire Digital, a healthcare consumer-centered pricing and navigation software company serving more than 100M members. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.
- Sapphire’s platform offers tools for provider search and selection, quality ratings and reviews, pricing data, cost calculators, and more to help consumers find the lowest cost and highest quality care
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Lightstone Ventures Raises $375M Fund to Invest in Early Stage Biotech and Medtech Companies
What You Should Know:
- Lightstone Ventures today announced the closing of Lightstone Ventures III with $375M in capital commitments, to invest in early-stage companies developing high-impact therapeutics and technologies.
- The new fund was oversubscribed, exceeding the firm’s targeted raise, and included strong support from both new and existing limited partners. With the closing Fund III, Lightstone Ventures also announced the appointments of Christina Isacson, Ph.D., as Partner and
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Femtech Startup Babyscripts Secures $12M for Virtual Maternity Care Solution
What You Should Know:
- Babyscripts, a Washington D.C.-based virtual care platform for managing obstetrics, announced it has raised $12M in Series B funding led by MemorialCare Innovation Fund, a strategic healthcare investment company, and will focus on the rollout of Babyscripts Virtual Maternity Care solution to providers across the US, as well as the development of care models specifically targeted to payers. Other investors in the Series B round include Philips and the CU Healthcare
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Eleos Health Raises $6M to Expand VoiceAI-Powered Behavioral Health
What You Should Know:
- Eleos Health, a digital health startup transforming behavioral healthcare with voice-based AI insights, today announced the close of $6M in seed funding to develop and launch their new category of automated health tech solutions that accelerate clinicians’ decision making led by aMoon Fund with participation from lool ventures, who led the company’s pre-seed round, and Gandyr Group, alongside Arkin Holdings, Geingels and former c-suite and executives from Google, MIT
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Healthcare Deserts: 80% of U.S. Lacks Adequate Access to Healthcare
What You Should Know:
- Over 80 percent of the country lacks adequate healthcare infrastructure in some shape or form, according to recent report findings from GoodRx Research. The research finds that over a third of the U.S. population lives in a county where there is less than adequate access to pharmacies, primary care providers, hospitals, trauma centers, and/or low-cost health centers.
- The report offers an in-depth look at the uneven distribution of healthcare across the
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EHR Data Reveals COVID-19 Vaccines Effective in Preventing Hospitalizations, ER Visits
What You Should Know:
- Real world evidence from electronic medical records (EHR) data reveals the COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective at preventing hospitalizations, emergency department visits and intensive care admissions due to the virus, according to a study just published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
- The study, “Effectiveness of COVID-19 Vaccines in Preventing Ambulatory and Inpatient Care” analyzes actual data from hospitals around the US and shows
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