Color's future isn't just DNA tests

Hello,

Today in healthcare news: Color's betting big on population health as it goes beyond DNA tests, what changes to Obamacare and Biden's stimulus mean for open enrollment, and the impact of the digital divide on vaccine rollout.

Color got its start during the consumer DNA testing boom. Now, the CEO of the $1.5 billion startup tells us why he thinks genetics are just one aspect of how the upstart will overhaul healthcare.

• Insider sat down with Othman Laraki, CEO of Color, the onetime consumer genetics startup that achieved $1.5 billion "unicorn" status in January.
• Laraki said the pandemic helped Color, which started during the direct-to-consumer DNA test boom, realize its most valuable product: digital health infrastructure.
• Through Color's genetic testing efforts, Laraki realized Color could provide a pathway to basic care access, a significant deviation compared to others in the space like 23andMe.

Read the full story from Patricia Kelly Yeo here>>

Open enrollment just started and changes to Obamacare in Biden's stimulus could mean cheap or free health insurance for millions of people

• Millions of middle-income people have been shut out of Obamacare since they earn more than $51,000.
• The $1.9 trillion stimulus package in Congress would make health insurance premiums cheaper.
• It would also pick up most of the tab for COBRA plans to help laid-off workers.

Read the full story from Kimberly Leonard here>>

Experts warned of the digital divide for years. Now it's 'life or death' as people struggle to sign up for online COVID-19 vaccinations.

• Underserved populations in the US struggle to get COVID-19 vaccines as providers rely on the web.
• About 38 million Americans don't have internet literacy, and 25 million don't have internet access.
• The barrier is another way underserved populations are bearing the brunt of the pandemic.

Read the full story from Natasha Dailey here>>

More stories we're reading:

• The world has lost 20.5 million years of life because of premature COVID-19 deaths, a new study found (Insider)
• Here's why we can't make vaccine doses any faster (ProPublica)
• Seniors are recruiting college kids to help them get vaccine appointments (The Wall Street Journal)
• The first dose of the Pfizer vaccine is 85% effective, Israeli study finds (Insider)

- Lydia