Hospital at Home Startup Contessa Raises $7 Million

Investors like the home hospitalization concept, judging by a $7 million funding round just secured by Contessa Health Inc.

The Nashville-based company partners with health plans and health systems, helping them identify and care certain patients in their own homes rather than in hospitals, and manage costs of that care. The home hospitalization concept is that providing inpatient-level care in people’s homes can improve outcomes while keeping costs down.

Contessa already is working with Marshfield Clinic Health System in Wisconsin. Through that partnership, beneficiaries in a certain health plan are eligible for hospital at home services. Qualifying conditions include congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cellulitis.

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Contessa provides clinical and administrative protocols for treating these patients in the home, through its ContessaCare platform; it also has a system for handling payment, through the ContradoClaim analytics and claims platform. The company operates only under prospective bundled payment agreements with commercial and Medicare Advantage plans, in which Contessa receives a lump sum from the payor and distributes the funds to downstream providers in the episode of care.

The $7 million Series B funding round was led by Noro-Moseley Partners, an Atlanta-based venture capital firm with a focus on information technology and health care verticals.

“The health care system is rapidly shifting from traditional fee-for-service to alternative payment models such as bundles,” said Spence McClelland, partner at Noro-Moseley, in a press release issued Thursday. “Contessa’s home hospitalization programs and technology platform help providers and plans achieve lower costs, better clinical outcomes and a better patient experience under these new models.”

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Contessa plans to use the financing to scale operations as the company enters new markets. The company had not responded Home Health Care News’ requests for further information as of press time.

Mount Sinai Health Network in New York also is testing a hospital at home program. Scaling hospital at home will require partnerships with home health agencies, Mt. Sinai Health Network President Arthur Klein believes.

Written by Tim Mullaney

Photo Credit: “Gold Dollar Sign” by Rareclass, CC BY 2.0

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