Reaching for the stars

Fall is here, the leaves are changing, and Medicare open enrollment has begun. Earlier this month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released its annual star ratings for Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, designed to help seniors assess plans based on quality measures such as member experience, health outcomes, and access to in-network care. Only 42% of MA plans offered in 2024 will be rated four or more stars on a five-star scale, down from 51% in 2023 and 68% in 2022.

The decline in plans’ star ratings is in part due to COVID-19 criteria relaxations expiring, as well as changes to the ratings process. However, MA plans are making moves to enhance their offerings. The past few weeks saw SCAN launch a women’s-focused MA plan, Alignment Health roll out co-branded plans with Instacart, and startup Greater Good Health, which raised $20M for value-based senior primary care, announce a partnership with an MA plan in Montana. Digital integrations are just one lever for MA improvement—with support for social determinants of health and closing care gaps as prominent areas of focus—but continued innovation seems written in the stars.

Headlines

After A Lull, The Pace Of FDA Authorization Of AI-Enabled Medical Devices Is Rising
108 AI-enabled devices secured FDA clearance so far this year STAT

Who Wins When Telehealth Companies Push Weight Loss Drugs?
D2C obesity care startups bring consumer opportunities and risks The Verge

WebMD Ignite Collaborates On Data Privacy In Omnichannel Outreach
Helping providers and plans compliantly use Google and Facebook Ads Healthcare IT News

Walmart Expands Nationwide Coverage For Doulas During Pregnancy
Employees can receive up to $1000 in doula coverage per pregnancy AP News

Apple Watch Facing Potential Import Ban After Losing Masimo Patent Case
A patent battle over pulse oximetry tech makes international headlines Ars Technica

Recent Funding

• AI-driven medical scribe solution Abridge scores another $30M
• Greater Good Health takes $20M to expand value-based primary care for seniors
• CGM-based personalized weight loss and metabolic health solution Signos grabs $20M
• PhaseV finds $15M for its ML technology to optimize clinical trial design and data analysis
• Sage inks $15M for its caregiver ops and care coordination system for senior living facilities
• Rymedi whips up $9M for its data interoperability and security technology for life sciences
• AI-powered healthcare consumer engagement solution RadiantGraph seeds $5M
• LighthouseAI closes $4.6M for its pharmaceutical supply chain compliance solutions
• Midas Healthcare Solutions nabs $2M to prevent medication misuse with connected devices