Dispensed: A big week for primary care disruptors, how a health van is improving the health of New Yorkers, and a call for DC power players
Hello,
Welcome to Dispensed, Business Insider's weekly healthcare newsletter recapping all the work that kept the healthcare team has been up to. Here in NYC, we're down a member after Emma Court has left us for other adventures - we miss her so much already!
That said, we need another reporter to add to the team! Know anybody who's fantastic? Are you interested in being featured in this fun weekly newsletter? Here's the link to the job posting.
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Big bets on companies changing the way we got to the doctor
This week (not that it's all that different any other week), one topic has consumed most of my waking thoughts and conversations: Primary Care.
Most notably, as CNBC reported Tuesday, One Medical is reportedly gearing up for an IPO. The 12-year-old company has raised $408 million and has a private valuation of $1.5 billion for its primary care service that charges a $200 annual fee and uses your insurance.
It got me thinking about about the precedent of a publicly traded primary care company. Most of the time, it seems like medical practices are relegated to the private equity space.
The news that One Medical has hired bankers wasn't the only vote of confidence for investors taking a more serious look at at companies looking to change the way we go to the doctor. On Wednesday, Andreessen Horowitz promoted Julie Yoo to general partner at the firm's biofund. She'll be investing in companies that are using software to transform healthcare. Here are the top 3 areas she plans to invest in.
Then, on Thursday, Parsley Health, a doctor's office that charges $150 a month and doesn't take insurance, raised $26 million to take its model national.
The news this week gave me a lot of chances to update this always evergreen post of the big players in the primary care space. It's shaping up to be an even more interesting time for primary care startups.
With so much funding pouring in, will we see more from the list prep for an IPO? Any gossip? Tips? Speculation? I'm all ears at lramsey@businessinsider.com.
Clarrie Feinstein spent a day with one of the vans in Manhattan's East Village to see how people without insurance get care in the wealthiest city in the world.
I spent a day with a health van providing care to low-income New Yorkers, and it reveals a hidden safety net for thousands in the world's wealthiest city
- About 700,000 people in New York City don't have health insurance.
- The Community Healthcare Network is working to ensure that people without insurance can receive basic healthcare services.
- Founded in 1981, CHN has 14 federally qualified health centers in four boroughs and a fleet of vans that go to different neighborhoods throughout the city almost every day of the week.
- CHN says that it provides care for 85,000 New Yorkers annually and that 2,090 patients were seen in the vans over the past year.
I mentioned this briefly last week, but it was interesting to hear from the head of Uber Health, Dan Trigub last week at the CBInsights conference on how its health ambitions could help the company reach demographics - age-wise and geographically - it normally wouldn't.
So I blogged about it.
We talked to a top Uber exec about how the ride-hailing giant is betting on healthcare to reach a new set of customers
I also wanted to highlight a super helpful resource from graphics guru Skye Gould and Insider senior science and health reporter Hilary Brueck. They mapped out where the 27 deaths that have been linked to vaping have happened across the US.
Check out their map here.
Last but not least - we're pulling together a list of healthcare power players in DC. That is, we want to find the folks shaping the future of healthcare policy. (No, they don't physically have to live in DC).
The form for nominations is here. Who would be a mistake not to include? Let us know!
I'll leave you to head off into your weekends for all of you training for a fall race (good luck to all those running Chicago this weekend!) I rounded up 11 misconceptions about training for a marathon you need to stop believing.
For me, I now see post-race beers in an entirely different light.
Thoughts? Questions about the nomination form? Fall baking recipes? You can find me at lramsey@businessinsider.com or the whole team at healthcare@businessinsider.com.
- Lydia