Digital health news, funding roundup in the prior week; April 18, 2022

Carbon Health unveils diabetes solution; Northwell and Aegis team up for AI in healthcare

Top Health News

• Northwell Health, a nonprofit integrated healthcare network, and Aegis Ventures, a startup studio, partnered to form a joint venture that will ideate, launch, and scale AI-driven companies to address healthcare’s most challenging quality, equity, and cost problems. Aegis Ventures intends to invest at least $100 million of seed-stage funds through the platform. 
• Kaiser Permanente doubled the capital in its Thriving Communities social impact investment fund to $400 million. Launched in 2018 with $200 million, the fund is on track to create and preserve 15,000 units of affordable housing by 2025. Doubling the fund to $400 million will double the impact to create or preserve 30,000 units before 2030.
• Netsmart, which designs, builds and delivers electronic health records solutions and services, partnered with Bamboo Health, to create a crisis management solution that will expedite access to treatment for those in crisis, connect individuals to a network of care and enable effective post-crisis care coordination.
• The Department of Health and Human Services extended the COVID-19 public health emergency for another 90 days. The PHE, which gives more flexibility to providers to waive reporting requirements and removed barriers to telehealth reimbursement under Medicare, was originally expected to expire April 16 and was then extended to July.
• Carbon Health, a healthcare provider that combines telehealth and in-person care, launched its diabetes program, a new omnichannel care approach that combines at-home continuous glucose monitoring devices with direct access to an interdisciplinary care team available in-person and virtually. The program represents the full integration of Steady Health, a virtual diabetes care provider Carbon Health acquired in June 2021.
• Providence Health agreed to pay the federal government $22 million to settle allegations that it billed government programs for unnecessary spinal surgeries. The company had been accused of falsely billed Medicare, Medicaid and other federal government programs for unnecessary procedures.
• The Justice Department announced a settlement agreement with CVS Pharmacy under the Americans with Disabilities Act that will eliminate barriers preventing people with certain disabilities from getting information about COVID-19 vaccinations and booking vaccination appointments online. The department found that CVS’s COVID-19 vaccine registration portal was not accessible to people with certain disabilities, including those who use screen reader software or have trouble using a mouse.

M&A

• Dialogue Health Technologies, a virtual healthcare and wellness platform, reached an agreement to acquire Tictrac, a SaaS-based provider of a global health and wellness platform
• EUDA Health Limited, a personalized healthcare company, and 8i a special purpose acquisition company, entered into a definitive business combination agreement that will result in EUDA Health Limited becoming a publicly listed company
• Omega Healthcare, a healthcare management solutions provider, acquired ApexonHealth, an AI and automation-based revenue cycle management and payor solutions provider, and Vasta Global, a provider of real-world data abstraction and analytics for the oncology market
• Masimo, a global medical technology company that develops and produces monitoring technologies, completed its acquisition of Sound United, a consumer technology company and owner of multiple premium audio and home entertainment brands
• GoodRx, operator of a a telemedicine platform and a free-to-use website and mobile app that track prescription drug prices, completed its acquisition of vitaCare, a platform that helps patients navigate access and adherence barriers for brand medications
• Dalrada Health, a global health solutions company, acquired Remedi Med Spas, a provider of spa treatments and products
• Onsite Dental, an employer-based dental care company, acquired Dental Excellence Partners, a national dental organization serving primarily Medicare and Medicaid patients
• Global investment firm Carlyle agreed to acquire Abingworth, a transatlantic life sciences investment firm
• AF Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, entered into a definitive agreement to acquire AmeriTrust Group, which specialty insurance programs and products
• Clever Health, a smart virtual care provider, acquired claims integration and medication therapy management company Benjamin

Funding Roundup

• Telepsychiatry platform Iris Telehealth raised $40 million
• Pictor raised $6.1 million to bring its COVID-19 antibody test to market
• Curie AI raised seed funding for its AI-based respiratory monitor
• Diligent Robotics raised $30 million to deploy robots into hospitals
• Vytalize Health, a value-based care platform for seniors, raised over $50 million
• DUOS, a digital health company on a mission to increase the longevity and independence of older adults, raised $15 million
• Medfin, a company that helps patients navigate the entire surgical and related diagnostics processes, raised $15 million
• Forge Health, an outpatient mental health and substance use treatment provider, raised $11 million
• Real, a mental health care company building a platform-based therapy model, raised $37 million
• Ryse Health, a provider of digital care to patients with type 2 diabetes, raised $3.4 million
• GripAble, a neuro and musculoskeletal rehab startup, raised $11 million
• Nudj Health, a company that partners with providers to deliver telehealth lifestyle interventions to patients using the collaborative care model, raised $10 million
• PhableCare, India’s largest chronic disease management company, raised $25 million
• Proven Behavior Solutions, an Autism Spectrum Disorder ("ASD") treatment company, raised an undisclosed amount of funding
• Aurion Biotech, a company that develops regenerative therapies to restore vision, raised $120 million
• Medikabazaar, an online aggregator for medical equipment and supplies, raised $65 million

(Image source: pixnio.com)