Anthem is making a “strategic funding” in kidney care startup Somatus and embarking on a multi-year value-based care partnership with the corporate, the medical health insurance big introduced Wednesday.
Somatus will present medical companies to Anthem’s Medicare Benefit enrollees with power kidney illness and end-stage kidney illness starting this month. The startup additionally develops expertise that analyzes knowledge and flags sufferers in danger for growing kidney illness and identifies attainable subsequent steps for care groups.
The kidney care firm contracts with well being plans, well being methods, and nephrology and first care practices to supply care to sufferers who’ve or are prone to growing kidney illness. That features serving to sufferers navigate their care and mitigating obstacles such as transportation and entry to nutritious meals.
Somatus goals to forestall illness development and decrease prices by way of early detection, extra tightly coordinated care, and elevated use of transplants and residential dialysis.
“Investing in and partnering with Somatus ensures shoppers with kidney illness enrolled in our affiliated well being plans will obtain industry-leading customized, in-home care and sources they should enhance their well being and wellbeing,” Elena McFann, president of Anthem’s Medicare enterprise, stated in a news release.
Well being insurers currently have been striking partnerships to handle sufferers susceptible to everlasting kidney failure. This development coincides with end-stage renal illness sufferers changing into eligible this 12 months to enroll in Medicare Benefit plans for the primary time.
Blue Cross and Blue Protect of Minnesota inked a value-based care plan with DaVita Kidney Care in April and Cigna partnered with Monogram Well being in March. Cricket Well being raised $83.5 million, together with investments from Cigna and Blue Protect of California in August.
Anthem and Somatus didn’t disclose monetary particulars of the funding. Somatus has raised $140.1 million since its founding in 2016, in response to knowledge compiled by Crunchbase.
Somatus most lately raised $60.1 million this 12 months, following a $64 million Series C funding round disclosed in 2020. The startup’s traders embody UnitedHealth Group’s Optum Ventures, hedge fund Deerfield Administration and City Corridor Ventures, a venture-capital firm co-founded by former Facilities for Medicare and Medicaid Companies appearing Administrator Andy Slavitt.
