Susan Ladika

The discount retailer signaled this summer that it was preparing to get into the delivery of healthcare.

Investor funding for digital healthcare ventures during the first three quarters of 2021 has already far outpaced last year’s levels, surpassing $20 billion for the first time

But CVS, Walgreens and Walmart differ in how they are setting up in-store health clinics.

Abarca’s Javier Gonzalez discussed the advantage of health plans insourcing PBM services in an à la carte fashion.

Almost 21% of adults were uninsured in states that failed to expand Medicaid, compared to about 10% of adults in expansion states.

Almost 95% of U.S. employers surveyed expect to see increased demand for medical services due to employees deferring care because of the pandemic. More than 90% are concerned about their employees’ long-term mental health because of COVID-19, according to a survey of 136 large employers by the Business Group on Health.

The government awarded $80 million in grants to help 60 organizations train more than 1,500 navigators who will focus particularly on underserved communities.

The first half of 2021 saw 372 deals averaging $39.6 million, which is already more than the total value of the deals done in all of 2020.

Insurers make acquisitions as pandemic adoption of virtual care delivery becomes the norm.

Oscar and Bright Health, with their retail orientation, are attracting investment, adding members, entering partnerships and making acquisitions.

Angela Celestin, executive vice president and chief human resources officer for CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, had a career outside of healthcare before working at CareFirst. “Healthcare was going through some major changes, and I wanted to be part of that change,” she says.

Romilla Batra, M.D., MBA, chief medical officer of SCAN Health and a professor of medicine at University of California, Irvine, says she was drawn to working for SCAN because “its mission resonated so strongly with me."

Findings from industry studies show major cost savings for beneficiaries in Medicare Advantage plans. Some say the cost per enrollee for the government is higher than that for traditional Medicare.

Companies are forming and investment dollars are pouring in. Can these services make mental healthcare more accessible and affordable as the pandemic leaves depression and anxiety in its wake?

Smaller providers that have seen sharp declines in revenue may be acquisition targets for large healthcare systems.

Insurers are taking a hands-on approach to primary care, buying or partnering with practices or setting up their services.

Federal assistance programs and telehealth have helped, but they haven’t made up for the shortfall from lack of services.

Although virtual visits as a whole have dropped off since their peak last spring, visits for behavioral health issues are still going strong, a reflection, in part, of the toll the COVID-19 pandemic has taken on the mental health of Americans.

Riding high because of the COVID-19 surge, telemedicine companies are going public and making expensive deals.

The decrease in in-person healthcare this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic could be a good thing for telehealth and programs that deliver hospital-level care at home.

There’s some skepticism as programs to address social determinants of health proliferate. Some data are being collected.

In the consolidated PBM industry, smaller companies say they can be nimble and not driven by rebates. But are they acquisition targets?

"Primary care as we know it today stands in the crosshairs, with new entrants vying for the hearts of consumers," says Forrester Research report. Telehealth and retail health clinics are among the suitors.

CVS Health, Walgreens and Walmart are pushing ahead with ambitious plans for in-store clinics and doctor’s offices.

COVID-19 spotlights the threat that cardiovascular disease poses to Americans; new technology may help address risk factors at the population health level.

COVID-19 forced a shift to virtual behavioral health therapy. Some once-skeptical providers, however, are finding telehealth beneficial. Reimbursement and continued relaxation of regulations will determine whether it’s here to stay.

If American healthcare does wind up getting divided into pre- and post-COVID-19 eras, the migration from in-person visits to telehealth ones will likely be one of the biggest developments on the right-hand side of the inflection.