Rock Weekly – NEW

The nation’s largest insurer has entered the digital diabetes management scene. As the industry sways between build versus buy, UnitedHealth Group debuted its home-grown type 2 diabetes platform. Meanwhile, online health insurance marketplace GoHealth made its public market debut to the tune of $914M.

In the shadow of the pandemic, a number of players are looking to make waves in the $260B primary care market. Walgreens is taking the plunge—with a $1B investment in VillageMD, the retail pharmacy giant plans to open as many as 700 doctors’ offices in its stores.

The first half of 2020 was beset by a perfect storm of maladies. At the end of Q1, we anticipated a swift, pandemic-driven slowdown in digital health funding. While there was a downswing, we couldn’t have predicted the subsequent reversal—funding topped $5.4B in the biggest H1 on record. There has never been a greater need—or demand—for tech-enabled healthcare, a sentiment that investors have resoundingly affirmed.

Sleep tracking for the Apple Watch is finally here. Among a slew of health-related features announced last week, Apple also introduced new mobility metrics, which may help clinicians monitor patients’ recovery or decline. In other launch news, Anthem released an Amazon Alexa skill that enables members to easily access benefits info, while CVS Health rolled out a return-to-work program for employers and universities.

Watch out, Amazon. Walmart scooped up CareZone's medication management tech, bolstering the retail giant’s existing prescription program. Meanwhile, acquisition talks between Otsuka and former digital health unicorn Proteus didn’t quite pan out—the smart pill pioneer has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. One digital therapeutics company that did have a good week: Akili’s video game for kids with ADHD became the first game-based therapeutic to receive FDA de novo clearance.

In a conversation with STAT last week, CMS Administrator Seema Verma reaffirmed the value patients have found in pandemic-driven telemedicine access. While addressing fraud risk, privacy concerns (made real by Babylon’s brief privacy breach), and reimbursement rates, she emphasized the importance of ensuring these services outlast the pandemic.

As McKinsey released a report predicting up to $250B of US health spending could be virtualized, telemedicine company Amwell confidentially filed to go public. In hopes of gathering data to support post-pandemic expansion, a newly introduced bill would mandate research on the impact of CMS’ relaxed regulations. Still, the rapid shift to virtual care means community health centers get left behind—and, while convenient for some, telemedicine further raises barriers to care for others.

As the pandemic’s toll surpasses 100K American lives, our nation is grappling with another crisis. The healthcare industry cannot ignore the systemic racism and resulting implicit and explicit biases that harm the Black community. We must commit to working within ourselves, our companies, and our communities to build a better, more just healthcare system—and society—starting now.

Digital health companies raked in over $400M last week, with the vast majority going to companies enabling virtual care. Money is following the pursuit toward a telemedicine-forward future. And investors aren’t the only ones banking on this trend—Premera Blue Cross launched a virtual primary care plan, while Amazon extended its telemedicine services to warehouse workers. Telemedicine is here to stay, and some believe its future will be more proactive, personalized, and data-driven.

Aside from the uncertainty of when to reopen businesses, there’s the equally important question of how. While tech is far from a silver bullet, a slew of efforts aim to help bring employees back to work—from Microsoft and UnitedHealth’s screening app to Collective Health’s reentry product. Epic revealed it’s working on immunity passport technology, which remains a point of contention in its reliability and privacy.