Big Changes Coming

Rather than trying to improve them, the most exciting health tech companies will ignore the parts of healthcare that have become obviously anachronistic, actively discarding convention. The seeds of this difference have been sown in a handful of companies started in the last few years. They are painstakingly taking relationships from incumbents, wi... See more

The bullish story here is that a new opportunity has emerged, especially in the Medicare Advantage market, for a new business model that serves patients better. It uses an integrated approach with value-based incentives in order to enable a better customer experience, and to save on costs by preventing hospitalizations.

Telehealth Support — Greater need for telehealth operations to provide advice, diagnoses, and ways to provide care outside of a doctor’s office.

Those are promising signs. On the other hand, the fundamental economics of the value-based arrangement still aren’t clear. If fee-for-service turns out to more profitable for both payer and provider, then value-based care won’t survive outside of Medicare Advantage. And there have been failures in the past, as cited above.