Dive Brief:
- Vancouver, Washington-based PeaceHealth has signed a definitive agreement to acquire on-demand healthcare startup Zoom+Care for an undisclosed sum.
- The deal brings Zoom's mobile app-driven services and neighborhood clinics and PeaceHealth's specialty and hospital services under one umbrella, giving consumers more choice in when and how they receive medical care.
- "The addition of Zoom to PeaceHealth's networks accelerates our vision of ensuring greater healthcare accessibility and affordability in our communities while increasing our ability to meet the on-demand needs of today's consumer," Liz Dunne, PeaceHealth president and CEO, said in a press release announcing the deal.
Dive Insight:
On-demand primary care is a popular trend, and Zoom's business plan is one other organizations are trying as well. Healthcare startup Heal provides a mix of primary care, prevention, pediatrics and urgent care, while Medicare is testing a home-based primary care model for costly chronically ill beneficiaries.
Providers and retailers also see new opportunities in the primary care space. Walgreens recently teamed up with Michigan-based McLaren Health Care to improve health and pharmacy services throughout the state. Under the agreement, McLaren will offer retail health clinics, primary care and urgent care services within Walgreens stores, and Walgreens will operate onsite pharmacies at select McClaren sites.
The retailer also launched a digital marketplace, Find Care Now, connecting mobile and online visitors to Walgreens clinics and healthcare services, including physician house calls and telehealth consultations.
Catholic nonprofit PeaceHealth operates 10 medical centers and a multispecialty group practice in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. Portland-based Zoom has 37 clinics in Portland, Vancouver, Seattle and Salem providing a range of services including urgent care, primary care, specialty care, mental health and telemedicine.
The startup has faced some legal troubles. In June, the FBI subpoenaed the company over allegations it retroactively altered medical claims to void Affordable Care Act risk adjustment payments.
Under the ACA, payers with younger, healthier members make risk adjustment payments to offset ones with sicker members. Zoom has been accused of cherry-picking patients to avoid those on Medicare and Medicaid, which reimburse at lower rates than private insurance plans. By falsifying claims, the company sought to lower its risk adjustment payments by making patients look less healthy.
The deal is expected to close Dec. 31.