Business Loans: J&J supports telehealth startup's funding round, plus other top stories you missed in the Digital Health Briefing

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J&J Invests in Telehealth Startup

Myriad Genetics Reports Sharp Drop Sales

BCBS' VBC Model Generates $153M in Cost Savings

J&J INVESTS IN TELEHEALTH STARTUP

New York-based telehealth startup Thirty Madison pocketed $47 million in a Series B funding round that notably included participation from Johnson & Johnson (J&J), according to Fortune. Thirty Madison specializes in providing telehealth services for hair loss, indigestion, and migraines, and it allows patients to schedule appointments, connect with physicians, order medications, and receive ongoing care from health portals. A small number of telehealth vendors have emerged as leaders amid the pandemic — but smaller startups with niche offerings are in a good position to grow, too. Telehealth adoption among US adults more than tripled in the first half of the year. J&J's investment signals pharma's swelling interest in the digital health space — and we expect to see healthcare incumbents become more active investors in telehealth. We think pharma and insurance companies' VC arms will continue to shovel funds over to telehealth startups, specifically, because we don't think that skyrocketing patient interest will waver, making their investments worthwhile.

Forecast: Telehealth Use Among US Adults

MYRIAD GENETICS REPORTS SHARP DROP IN SALES, NAMES NEW CEO

The Salt Lake City-based genetic testing company appointed tenured healthcare exec Paul Diaz CEO as it attempts to recover from a major drop in sales in its fiscal Q4 (ended June 30, 2020), according to MedTech Dive. Myriad — which offers both screening services for a range of cancers and other chronic conditions and solutions that help steer patients toward effective treatments — brought in $93 million during the period, a 57% tumble from the $215 million it tallied during the same time frame in 2019. This setback is the latest in a series of headwinds: Last August, one of its core products that helps patients with depression find effective therapies received pushback from the FDA. Myriad's plummeting revenue is a sign of an increasingly precarious genetic testing market — which we're not sure will bounce back post-pandemic.

BCBS' VBC MODEL GENERATES $153M IN COST SAVINGS

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina's (BCBSNC's) value-based care (VBC) reimbursement model — dubbed Blue Premier — generated $153 million in cost savings in its first year, and the five health systems involved in the program brought in $85 million in reimbursement payments, Becker's Hospital Review reports. For context, VBC models tie reimbursements to the value of care provided versus the number of services rendered. In BCBSNC's case, increased value of care was demonstrated in a variety of ways: For example, physicians paid through the VBC model were able to control unhealthy blood pressure levels for 13,412 more members than they were able to in 2018. VBC models could offer financial relief to providers clocking low patient volumes amid the coronavirus pandemic. While some healthcare organizations posited that pandemic-induced financial woes would cause them to pull out of VBC agreements, some payers are stepping up to provide financial cushioning in the transition to VBC: BCBSNC launched Accelerate to Value for primary care practices, through which it'll give providers a fixed monthly payment based on patient outcomes.