WORKWEEK

CVS Health outbid Amazon and UnitedHealth Group to acquire home health company Signify Health for $8B. Are you convinced that health care at home will be the next big thing? 

The Deets 

CVS’s acquisition will give them access to Signify’s 10,000 clinicians in all 50 states, technology to coordinate care and nearly 2.5 million homes (read: a good referral stream to other CVS Health services).

Signify operates by sending clinicians to patients’ homes. There, they work up patients’ medical and social needs, and with Signify’s technology, can properly coordinate care with different services. According to Signify’s CEO, Kyle Armbrester, Signify’s clinicians spend on average 2.5 times longer with patients than the typical doctor’s office. By meeting patients where they’re most comfortable—in their homes—clinicians can likely intervene earlier or better manage a chronic condition while lowering costs.

Additionally, CVS will gain access to Caravan Health, an ACO company acquired by Signify. Caravan has 170 Medicare providers covering 700,000 patients.

Dash’s Dissection

We’re entering the healthcare at home renaissance.

I first wrote about healthcare at home back in January when MyMichigan Health announced it would officially launch a hospital-at-home program. The health system joined 100+ other U.S. hospitals that are trying to deliver high-value care.

While hospital-at-home programs allow for intensive care in the comfort of the patient’s home, general health care at-home programs (like Signify) allow for preventative, routine care, still in the comfort of patients’ homes.

This is all to say, big companies in the healthcare industry see the high value in health care at home. We’re entering a new era of where care is delivered.

• Want a financial analysis of this acquisition? Check out Blake’s take here.