Three companies are combining to form a value-based kidney care company said to be worth $2.4 billion. Fresenius Health Partners, InterWell Health and Cricket Health will join powers underneath the InterWell Health brand.
The news is another example of the rapidly budding kidney care market. Even more so, it’s an example of the innovations taking place in the market, with in-home care solutions being one of them.
“By holding itself to the highest standards, the new InterWell Health expects to improve patients’ quality of life through reduced hospital admissions and readmissions, slower disease progression, increased transplant referrals and rates, accelerated transition to home dialysis, and improved health equity,” the press release read.
The company’s goal is to create the “new standard in value-based kidney care in the U.S.”
But they’re not alone. Just last month, the value-based, home-focused kidney care company Somatus announced that it had raised more than $325 million in oversubscribed Series E financing.
Monogram Health – a kidney care management company – recently raised $160 million in its Series B.
These companies, again, are increasingly focused on delivering care within the home. Retailers such as CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) have done considerable work on that front as well.
“Each patient’s situation and needs are unique, and the new organization will offer groundbreaking solutions from machine learning to highly personalized engagement that keep patients healthy, at home, and out of the hospital,” Cricket Health CEO Robert Sepucha said in the press release.
On its end, Cricket Health is a portfolio company of the private equity fund Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (WCAS), which is a major player in senior care. The San Francisco-based Cricket had raised over $120 million as of August 2021. The company reported last year that 45% of its patients in need of dialysis were initiating at home, compared to the national benchmark of 11%.
InterWell Health has a nephrology network of more than 1,600 physicians, which positions it to “manage kidney patients under at-risk arrangements with public and private payors across the full continuum of chronic kidney disease,” according to the release.
Finally, Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA) provides care to people with renal and other chronic conditions. It has a network of dialysis facilities and outpatient cardiac and vascular labs, which allow it to provide to hundreds of thousands of chronically ill individuals throughout the continent. Fresenius Health Partners is the value-based care division of FMCNA.
Financial and strategic support came from Valtruis, the value-based care WCAS company that was given a $300 million runway last year. Other investors included Oak HC/FT, Cigna Ventures and Blue Shield of California.
“Valtruis has been thrilled with our partnership with Cricket Health to date, and we are excited to help catalyze this game-changing transaction in kidney care as we continue to build out our capabilities in value based care and fortify our strategic relationships throughout the healthcare ecosystem,” David Caluori, the chairman of the Valtruis’ board, said in the release.
In addition to being valued at $2.4 billion, the combined company will have over $6 billion of medical costs under management and also be responsible for over 100,000 covered lives – representing a total addressable market of $170 billion, according to the release.
One of its goals is to accelerate growth in the mid- and late-stage chronic kidney disease value-based care population. By 2025, it hopes to “engage and manage” the care of more than 270,000 Americans living with kidney disease.
“The new InterWell Health will bring together physicians, care management teams and providers,” Bill Valle, the CEO of care delivery for Fresenius Medical Care, said in the release. “Cricket Health’s predictive analytics and patient engagement platform combined with the physician-led clinical approach of InterWell Health and Fresenius Health Partners’ experience and expertise in value-based care will position the organization for accelerated growth.”
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