NaviHealth Changes Owners – Again
The merry-go-round of owners may finally be slowing for naviHealth, a digital healthcare company that helps health systems and insurers manage post-acute care bundled payments. In its third change of command, naviHealth is now part of OptumHealth, which is part of the Optum division of UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH). It now manages post-acute services for 4.5 million Medicare Advantage members and nine of the top 10 health systems. NaviHealth was founded in 2012 by Tom Scully, former administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), who joined Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe in 2004. In August 2015, WCAS sold a 71% stake in the company to Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH) for... Read More »
Change Healthcare Lives Up to its Name
This is an eventful year for Change Healthcare (NASDAQ: CHNG). Not only did it split from longtime partner McKesson Corporation (NYSE: MCK) in March, it bought and sold some companies in May. First, the split with McKesson. Back in June 2016, McKesson acquired a 70% stake in Change Healthcare, then backed by Blackstone Group and Hellman & Friedman. At the time, Change provided software, analytics, and network solutions aimed to give users more effective communications, payments, and actionable insights. The merger combined substantially all of Change Healthcare’s business and the majority of McKesson’s Technology Solutions into a new company, still called Change Healthcare.... Read More »
Novartis Enters the Game With Ubisoft
Last week, an unusual partnership in the health care M&A space hit the headlines. Novartis AG (NYSE: NVS), the global pharmaceutical company, bought Amblyotech, Inc., a software startup that, in collaboration with Ubisoft (OTCMKTS: UBSFF) and McGill University, is developing digital technology for the treatment of amblyopia (lazy eye), a leading cause of vision loss. Ubisoft is a major player in the video game industry and not a company we expected to be treading in the health care market. It owns several development studios worldwide and publishes multiple major video game franchises. Amblyotech uses active gaming and passive video technology with 3-D glasses, training the eyes to... Read More »
PE-Backed Coronis Health Acquires RCM Provider
In the eHealth sector, acquisitions for revenue cycle management (RCM) firms are usually headline-worthy deals, such as Frazier Healthcare Partners’ $250 million purchase of MedData, Inc. from Mednax (NYSE: MD) back in October 2019. RCM companies tend to service hospitals, large health systems and healthcare providers. MedData, for instance, serves more than 10,000 physicians in a network of more than 3,000 facilities nationwide. However, Coronis Health focuses on something more niche. A portfolio company of 424 Capital (formerly known as Brook Venture Partners), Coronis Health announced last week it acquired Reliabill, LLC, an RCM provider to the behavioral health market, focusing... Read More »
