Due diligence in middle market healthcare investing
Due diligence
Private equity firms investing in middle market healthcare deals face serious challenges in commercial due diligence. There are many companies that appear attractive, with $5M+ EBITDA, increasing revenues and enticing stories of how industry dynamics, customer relationships, technology differentiation and management excellence will take them to the next level. In the $3 trillion US healthcare industry, there are numerous billion dollar niches offering strong returns to companies that ride the wave of transformation.
Generalist investors and even healthcare specialists need support when performing due dili...
Source: Health Business Blog - May 10, 2016 Category: Health Management Authors: dewe67 Tags: Economics due diligence Health Business Group investment middle market private equity Source Type: blogs
Surgeons and truck drivers may soon have something in common
Climbing into the future
Many Americans feel economically insecure. Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders have latched on to these feelings, and both fault free trade agreements for stripping the country of good, steady jobs. Trade agreements are a convenient scapegoat, but the big threat to jobs is technology, not trade.
Over the past decades, technology has reduced the need for labor in many fields. Robots can perform repetitive, manual work like welding cars. Enterprise software and databases have replaced paralegals and bookkeepers. Computers can answer the phone and provide customer service.
As great as these disloca...
Source: Health Business Blog - May 6, 2016 Category: Health Management Authors: dewe67 Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Health Wonk Review is up at Wright on Health
Wright on Health hosts the latest incarnation of the Health Wonk Review blog carnival. It’s the Pivoting Toward the General Election edition. Interestingly, multiple posts focus on the same topic as mine: United Healthcare’s exit from the Obamacare marketplaces.
But beyond those posts you’ll see a lot of variety, along with a striking gallery of candidate photos! (Source: Health Business Blog)
Source: Health Business Blog - May 5, 2016 Category: Health Management Authors: dewe67 Tags: Announcements Blogs Policy and politics Source Type: blogs
Listen app: ResApp diagnoses respiratory ailments
I’m intrigued by an Australian company, ResApp that has developed a smartphone app to diagnose respiratory diseases by analyzing the sound signatures of coughs. The company has just completed an oversubscribed fundraising round, so I guess I’m not the only one who finds it interesting.
I interviewed the CEO, Dr. Tony Keating via email, and his answers are below. Meanwhile, check out the demo for their consumer-facing product.
What is ResApp? from ResApp Health on Vimeo.
Q1. What unmet need does ResApp serve? How big is the need?
ResApp is developing digital health solutions for the diagnosis and management of...
Source: Health Business Blog - April 28, 2016 Category: Health Management Authors: dewe67 Tags: Devices e-health Entrepreneurs International Source Type: blogs
Good riddance: United finally gives up on ACA marketplaces
United we hardly knew ye
United Healthcare announced that it’s exiting most of the Obamacare insurance marketplaces (aka exchanges) next year. Sound like a familiar story? In fact all the recent news coverage is just a rehash of last November’s announcement that United was probably going to exit.
As I wrote at the time (United pulls out of ACA exchanges: Should we care?), United’s exit is not a huge deal. The company specializes in selling high-priced plans to corporate accounts. In the price-sensitive world of the exchanges that’s a losing proposition. No surprise — United wasn’t ge...
Source: Health Business Blog - April 27, 2016 Category: Health Management Authors: dewe67 Tags: Health plans Policy and politics affordable care act health care health insurance exchanges health insurance marketplaces united healthcare Source Type: blogs
Health Wonk Review is up at Health System Ed
Peggy Salvatore has posted the Early Bird Catches the Worm edition of the Health Wonk Review at Health System Ed. She’s taken an interesting approach by posting in the order the submissions were received. You’ll see my post way down at the bottom, which may explain why I’m wormless.
(Source: Health Business Blog)
Source: Health Business Blog - April 21, 2016 Category: Health Management Authors: dewe67 Tags: Announcements Blogs Policy and politics Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Urgent care billing: Eyebrows raised
An unhealthy discount
My wife was sick a few weekends ago so I took her to the Beth Israel urgent care clinic in Chestnut Hill where they diagnosed her with the flu. Nice modern facility. In network. Convenient parking. You get the idea. Care was good, but slow.
Then a few days ago, I received an Explanation of Benefits (EoB) from my health plan.
One reason to go to urgent care is that it’s more cost effective than the emergency room. In this case BI sent Blue Cross a bill for $1328. Blue Cross marked it down to $365.81, subtracted our co-pay ($35) and deductible ($231.68) and sent BI payment for a whopping $99.13.
...
Source: Health Business Blog - April 19, 2016 Category: Health Management Authors: dewe67 Tags: Economics Health plans Hospitals Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
KaloBios bows to the price pressure Gods (I ’ m quoted)
Pharma bad boy Martin Shkreli, formerly CEO of KaloBios Pharmaceuticals put the company in an uncomfortable spot with plans to jack the price of a drug for Chagas disease.
Today Fierce PharmaMarketing features me in its story explaining what’s going on at KaloBios and the implications for the broader industry. (In Shkreli’s aftermath, KaloBios vows fair pricing. Will others follow its lead?)
The company has really abased itself, essentially putting forward a plan to act like a non-profit. The industry as a whole won’t be following that maneuver! In the story I share my view that pharma has boxed itself i...
Source: Health Business Blog - April 13, 2016 Category: Health Management Authors: dewe67 Tags: Pharma Policy and politics Source Type: blogs
