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☆ Exclusive: A16z-backed Knownwell is buying AI-powered Alfie Health to supercharge its obesity care
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-20 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

With that market shaking out this year, one obesity care startup just scooped up another. Knownwell, which provides obesity-centered primary care and weight management, has acquired Y Combinator startup Alfie Health, Business Insider has learned exclusively. But many investors leaned away from backing obesity care startups as the virtual prescription-focused model clashed with medication shortages. AdvertisementKnownwell has taken a different approach to weight management, with in-person providers alongside its virtual care services, and primary care in addition to obesity care. Alfie HealthGetting obesity care rightBoyarsky Pratt founded Knownwell alongside Dr. Angela Fitch, the president of the Obesity Medicine Association and the former associate director of Massachusetts General Hospital's weight care center.

Persons: —, Alfie, Alexander Singh, Ozempic, Knownwell, It's, Andreessen Horowitz, Alfie Health, Y Combinator, Nina Capital, Brooke Boyarsky Pratt, Boyarsky Pratt, it's, Angela Fitch, Vineeta, Kindbody, Agarwala Organizations: Service, Health, Business, Alfie Health, Knownwell, Flare Capital Partners, Nina, Obesity Medicine Association, Massachusetts, Oak, Carbon Health Locations: WeightWatchers, Plenty, Needham , Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Dallas, Minneapolis

☆ CVS posts big earnings miss, cuts profit outlook on higher medical costs
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

CVS Health on Wednesday reported first-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings that missed expectations and slashed its full-year profit outlook, citing higher medical costs that are dogging the U.S. insurance industry. The drugstore chain expects 2024 adjusted earnings of at least $7 per share, down from a previous guidance of at least $8.30 per share. The company said its new outlook assumes that higher medical costs in its insurance business during the first quarter will persist throughout the year. Medicare Advantage, a privately run health insurance plan contracted by Medicare, has long been a key source of growth and profits for the insurance industry. Excluding certain items, such as amortization of intangible assets and capital losses, adjusted earnings per share were $1.31 for the quarter.

Persons: LSEG, Karen Lynch, Caremark, Tyson Foods, CVS's Caremark, Cuban's Organizations: CVS Health, CVS, Aetna, UnitedHealth, Medicare, LSEG, Blue, Amazon Pharmacy, Oak Street Health Locations: California

☆ Amazon, CVS, and Walgreens went all in on primary care. Their bets are bleeding money.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

In the past several years, Amazon, CVS Health, and Walgreens each spent billions to own primary-care companies. CVS bought Oak Street Health. Here's how the bets that Amazon, CVS, and Walgreens made are playing out. CVS is building more Oak Street clinics despite lossesAn Oak Street Health location in Elgin, Illinois during its grand opening. CVS is hoping to help Oak Street clinics get profitable quicker by driving more patients their way.

Persons: Andy Jassy, Thos Robinson, It's, JP Morgan, Berkshire Hathaway, Business Insider's Eugene Kim, Kim, they've, it's, VillageMD hasn't, Jefferies, Brian Tanquilut, Tanquilut, Lydia Ramsey, Mike Pykosz, Pykosz, Aetna, Michael Cherny Organizations: CVS Health, Walgreens, Amazon, CVS, Oak Street Health, Business, Aetna, Medical, Washington Post, Summit Health, Oak, Health Locations: Oak, VillageMD, Haven, Florida, Elgin , Illinois

☆ CVS beats estimates, but cuts full-year profit outlook on higher medical costs
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

CVS Health on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings that topped expectations, but the company cut its full-year profit outlook, citing higher medical costs that are dogging the broader insurance industry. The company lowered its 2024 adjusted earnings forecast to at least $8.30 per share, down from a previous guidance of at least $8.50 per share. Analysts surveyed by LSEG were expecting full-year adjusted earnings of $8.49 per share. CVS also cut its unadjusted earnings guidance to $7.06 per share, down from at least $7.26 per share. Excluding certain items, such as amortization of intangible assets and capital losses, adjusted earnings per share were $2.12 for the quarter.

Persons: LSEG Organizations: CVS Health, CVS, Aetna, LSEG, Oak Street Health

☆ Here's why a top VC says healthcare investors should make growth-stage bets right now — and where he's looking for those deals
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

As a multi-stage VC fund, Lightspeed has an advantage in its exposure to both early-stage and later-stage healthcare markets, Imanbayev said. And many later-stage healthcare startups still have plenty of room to grow, he said. The first one to three years are often slow-moving for a healthcare startup, too, as it works to get its first partnerships with payers or providers, he said. But they also tend to be less risky, since later-stage startups should have revenue streams or partnerships that demonstrate their value. Lightspeed led value-based care startup Aledade's $260 million Series F in June 2023, an unusually large deal as other investors cut much smaller checks.

Persons: —, Galym, Imanbayev, I'm, There's, Farzad Mostashari, Aledade Tom Sandner, VCs, Abridge, he's, Chris Severn Organizations: Business, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Lightspeed, CVS, Health, Turquoise Health, Pharma, FDA, pharma

☆ CVS to close ‘select’ pharmacies in Target stores in the coming months
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-11 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

CVS Health plans to close select pharmacies inside Target stores early this year, a company spokesperson said Thursday, as retail pharmacy chains in the U.S. struggle to boost profits. She added that employees affected by the closures will be offered comparable roles within CVS, and prescriptions will be transferred to a nearby CVS pharmacy before a location closes. The spokesperson did not disclose how many stores would be shuttered, but a report from The Wall Street Journal on Thursday said CVS would close "dozens" of locations. The company has a pharmacy in about 1,800 of Target's 1,956 stores in the U.S., according to a Target spokesperson. The Target spokesperson declined to comment on the closures or share plans for the closed CVS locations.

Persons: Melissa Repko Organizations: CVS, Wall, Oak Street Health, CNBC, CNBC PRO Locations: U.S

☆ Walgreens is following Mark Cuban's blueprint as it embarks on a big strategy shift for prescription drugs
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-05 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Pharmacies are changing how they get paid, and Walgreens wants a piece of the action. It's a departure from the traditional, complicated way drugs are paid for, and proponents say it could make drug pricing more transparent and predictable. It's not a given patients will pay less for drugs at the pharmacy counter under this kind of model. These companies are taking cues from Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs, which is starting to gain traction in the market. The big question is whether Walgreens can compete with CVS and other pharmacies in delivering those extra pharmacy and healthcare services.

Persons: Tim Wentworth, Mark, Wentworth, Borja, Hojas, they're, Caremark, Brian Tanquilut, Tanquilut, CVS, Cigna, Mark Cuban's, It's, Rosalind Brewer Organizations: Walgreens, Business, CVS Health, Getty, CVS, Jefferies, Health Locations: California

☆ CVS results top expectations, lifted by strong health services revenue
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

CVS on Wednesday reported third-quarter adjusted earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street's expectations, lifted in part by strong revenue from the company's health services business. CVS booked sales of $89.76 billion for the quarter, up nearly 11% from the same period a year ago. The company reported net income of $2.27 billion, or $1.75 per share, for the third quarter. Excluding certain items, such as amortization of intangible assets and capital losses, adjusted earnings per share were $2.21 for the quarter. However, it maintained its forecast on an adjusted basis, guiding to full-year adjusted earnings of $8.50 to $8.70 per share.

Organizations: CVS, LSEG, Walgreens, Aid, CNBC, Oak Street Health Locations: Monday's

☆ Humana just tapped an Envision exec to be its next CEO as the insurance giant pushes deeper into clinics and home care
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Humana CEO Bruce Broussard will step down next year after more than a decade leading the health-insurance giant. Humana has tapped Jim Rechtin, head of Envision Healthcare, to be its next CEO. Weaving together insurance benefits with care delivery is meant to make healthcare easier for people to navigate and improve patients' health, Broussard said. One example is Humana's recent push into behavioral healthcare, Broussard said. That startup will eventually become part of Humana, Broussard said.

Persons: Bruce Broussard, Jim Rechtin, Broussard, —, Rechtin, " Broussard, Rafael Henrique, Humana Organizations: Healthcare, Humana, Indiana's DePauw University, Harvard, Getty, Aetna, Oak Street Health, Iora, One, General Atlantic Locations: The Louisville , Kentucky, DaVita, Group's California, Kentucky, UnitedHealth

☆ Walgreens just made another big bet on healthcare, weeks after its CEO exited. A top exec shares how the company plans to partner with doctors.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

In an interview with Insider, the head of Walgreens Health shared his vision for the business. It spent $5.2 billion to buy a majority stake in the primary-care company VillageMD and invested $3.5 billion to help the clinic chain acquire an urgent-care company. The company reported in June an operating loss of $1.4 billion in its Walgreens Health business in the first nine months of its fiscal year. Walgreens pharmacists could work with VillageMD doctors to better care for patients with chronic health conditions, he said. Integrating Walgreens' healthcare businessesWalgreens' strategy for how it would tie its growing number of individual healthcare businesses together hasn't been clear, but Driscoll gave some clues.

Persons: Rosalind Brewer, Brewer, James Kehoe, John Driscoll, Walgreens, Driscoll, Pearl Organizations: Walgreens, Walgreens Health, Shields Health Solutions, Pearl Health, CVS, Health, Amazon, Walmart Locations: Shields, Pearl

☆ CVS beats on earnings and revenue as the company slashes costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A customer exits a CVS Health Corp. store in Oakland, California, U.S., on Friday, Aug. 2, 2019. CVS Health on Wednesday reported second-quarter earnings and revenue that beat expectations, as the company slashes costs and lays off thousands of employees. Excluding one-time items, CVS reported $2.21 per share for the period. The company booked revenue of $88.9 billion for the quarter, a 10% increase compared with the year-ago period. CVS maintained its full-year adjusted earnings guidance of $8.50 to $8.70 per share, after slashing its projections by 20 cents last quarter due to costs associated with its recent acquisitions.

Organizations: CVS Health Corp, CVS Health, CVS, Oak Street Health, CNBC, Refinitiv Locations: Oakland , California, U.S

☆ CVS to slash 5,000 jobs as company deepens costly health-care push
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

CVS Health is cutting 5,000 jobs to reduce costs as the retail pharmacy giant furthers its push into health-care offerings, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC on Tuesday. The pharmacy chain had about 300,000 employees in the U.S. at the end of last year, according to a securities filing. A CVS spokesperson confirmed the layoffs and said they are not expected to affect "customer-facing colleagues in our stores, pharmacies, clinics, or customer services centers." But CVS has sharpened its focus on health care over the past few years, following similar moves by rivals such as Walgreens and tech giant Amazon . The company moved deeper into patient care with its nearly $8 billion acquisition of health-care provider Signify Health and $10.6 billion deal to buy Oak Street Health, which operates primary care clinics for seniors.

Organizations: CVS, CNBC, Street Journal, Rhode, Walgreens, Oak Street Health Locations: U.S

☆ Corporate Giants Buy Up Primary Care Practices at Rapid Pace
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Reed Abelson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It’s no surprise that the shortage of primary care doctors — who are critically important to the health of Americans — is getting worse. So why are multibillion-dollar corporations, particularly giant health insurers, gobbling up primary care practices? CVS Health, with its sprawling pharmacy business and ownership of the major insurer Aetna, paid roughly $11 billion to buy Oak Street Health, a fast-growing chain of primary care centers that employs doctors in 21 states. And Amazon’s bold purchase of One Medical, another large doctors’ group, for nearly $4 billion, is another such move. The appeal is simple: Despite their lowly status, primary care doctors oversee vast numbers of patients, who bring business and profits to a hospital system, a health insurer or a pharmacy outfit eyeing expansion.

☆ CVS Health’s Sales Rise 11%; Oak Street Health, Signify Health Acquisitions Close
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Sabela Ojea | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Corporate giants from Amazon to CVS are investing billions into primary-care practices. Photo illustration: Amber BragdonCVS Health posted an 11% rise in sales during the first quarter as it closed its biggest acquisitions since its nearly $70 billion merger with Aetna in 2018. The healthcare company on March 29 completed the nearly $8 billion acquisition of Signify Health, adding in-home services to its offerings. On May 2, the company closed its $10.6 billion deal for Oak Street Health’s 600 primary-care centers. The newly added units will work together to expand the business, with Signify doctors checking up on home-care patients, who are then referred to either an Oak Street practice or a CVS in-store clinic.

May 3 (Reuters) - CVS Health Corp (CVS.N) said on Wednesday it would pause its recent acquisition spree as it focuses on integrating purchases of healthcare service provider Signify Health and primary care provider Oak Street Health. CEO Karen Lynch said CVS will focus on integrating Signify and Oak Street with its other businesses in the near term. CVS cut its full-year profit forecast on Wednesday to account for transaction and integration costs related to the two deals, and its shares fell 3%. The earlier-than-expected closing of the Oak Street deal on Tuesday is likely to result in increased interest costs for the year, analysts said. Morningstar analyst Julie Utterback said investors might be disappointed that the company pushed down its profit forecast after completing the Oak Street acquisition this week.

☆ CVS beats on earnings and revenue but lowers profit outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

CVS Health on Wednesday reported first-quarter results that beat earnings and revenue expectations, but the company lowered its full-year profit guidance due to costs related to recent acquisitions. CVS reported total revenue of $85.28 billion, an 11% increase over the $76.83 billion a year earlier. CVS' health services segment booked revenue of $44.59 billion, a 12.6% increase over sales of $39.62 billion in the same quarter last year. CVS' health insurance segment generated revenue of $25.88 billion, a 12% increase from the year before. And CVS' retail segment booked revenues of $27.92 billion, and increase of 7.8% compared to sales of $25.89 billion in the first quarter of 2022.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: CVS Health, Eli Lilly, Clorox, Yum and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

CVS cut its 2023 adjusted earnings guidance to a range of $8.50 to $8.70 per share from its previous projection of $8.70 to $8.90 per share. On Tuesday, the consumer products firm posted fiscal third-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $1.51 topped the $1.22 per share expected by analysts polled by Refinitiv. Revenue also beat, coming in at $1.91 billion versus the $1.82 billion expected by Wall Street. AMD also said it expects about $5.3 billion in sales in the current quarter, less than the $5.48 billion expected by Wall Street. Its adjusted earnings per share for the first quarter came in at $1.06, compared to the $1.13 expected, per Refinitiv.

☆ How Amazon virtual health clinic's top doctor thinks about patients as customers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Ian Thomas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

In 2018, it bought online pharmacy PillPack for $750 million, which it followed up by launching its own virtual clinic for chronic conditions. Now Amazon Clinic, which launched in November, is looking to open up a new option for virtual care to help with common issues like allergies, acne and hair loss. That hasn't come without some setbacks – Amazon Care, its effort to take on telemedicine and primary care for the employer market nationwide, was shut down in August after just three years. Health care, he said, can at times be correctly described as paternalistic. "Care can be a thing that we do to patients rather than with patients or for patients," Ayogu said.

And that has the impact of postponing some announcements," said Anu Aiyengar, global head of M&A at JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N). M&A volumes dropped 44% to $282.7 billion in the U.S. and 70% to $81.87 billion in Europe. Reuters Graphics"Having a well-functioning financing market is a critical ingredient for M&A. Global M&A volumes in Q1 2023LACK OF CONFIDENCEThe depressed market valuations also presented an opportunity for prominent activist investors to launch new proxy fights, with dealmakers anticipating a boost to M&A volumes from activist campaigns in the coming quarters. "Inflationary pressures aren't subsiding as fast as people expected; there's still a lot of geopolitical tensions, and in a lot of ways, the disruption in the financing market is intensifying," Langston said.

☆ CVS expects to close $8 bln Signify deal this week
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

March 27 (Reuters) - CVS Health Corp (CVS.N) said on Monday it expects to complete its acquisition of healthcare services company Signify Health (SGFY.N) this week, subject to certain conditions, potentially ending months of antitrust scrutiny on the $8 billion deal. CVS' potential acquisitions of two healthcare service providers Signify and Oak Street Health (OSH.N), along with other such deals, have been facing increasing scrutiny over their impact on cost of healthcare in the United States. Earlier this month, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren urged the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to review healthcare conglomerate CVS' $9.5-billion acquisition of Oak Street as well as other merger deals in the sector. Reporting by Leroy Leo in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini GanguliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Factbox: Which companies are affected by SVB collapse?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

ROKU (ROKU.O)Streaming devices maker says it has about $487 million, or 26% of its cash and cash equivalents, held in deposits with SVB. CIRCLEUS cryptocurrency firm Circle says $3.3 billion of its $40 billion of USD Coin reserves are at SVB. BLOCKFIBankrupt crypto lender BlockFi Inc has roughly $227 million in unprotected funds at SVB, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. VIR BIOTECHNOLOGY (VIR.O)Biotech firm says it maintains operating accounts at SVB with about $220 million as of Friday. EUROPEAround 16 tech and life sciences companies in Europe have disclosed about $190 million in exposure to SVB in the UK and the United States.

☆ A top-5% fund manager shares 4 reasons why he's getting optimistic about the economy after hiding nearly half of his assets in cash last summer — and details 6 of his favorite stocks to buy now
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Leading fund manager Jeff Muhlenkamp put about half of his fund into cash last summer. Last summer, Jeff Muhlenkamp was so concerned about the US economy that he put nearly half of his fund's assets into cash. But in recent months, Muhlenkamp has moved more money into select stocks — even though he acknowledges that there are still lingering risks for stocks and the economy. "You're seeing buyers come back into the market," Muhlenkamp said. Lastly, Microsoft is like Apple in that it's a mature mega-cap company with profitable businesses that produce tons of cash, Muhlenkamp said.

☆ CVS wants to be the doctor for people on Medicare
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —CVS is buying a primary care doctor’s network, moving the pharmacy deeper into providing physician services for patients. Medicare Advantage, also known as Medicare Part C, is a type of Medicare health plan offered by a private company that contracts with Medicare. In 2018, CVS bought Aetna, making it one of the largest health insurers in the country. “In the last three years, health insurers have become increasingly interested in purchasing primary care practices and employing physicians,” Nicholson said. Additionally, private Medicare plans typically offer higher reimbursement rates from the federal government than traditional Medicare, and CVS wants to capitalize on this, he said.

☆ A disappointing 2022 has led some Goldman Sachs partners to ask: Is it time for a change at the top?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

On tap, we've got stories on why not-so-flashy land is actually the hottest investment on Wall Street, the firms minting money by navigating FTX's bankruptcy, and the coolest houses on Airbnb. It's only February, but the Ides of March might be coming to Goldman Sachs. We've talked at length over how people are looking to pin the blame on Solomon as things have soured at Goldman. Certain issues have been easier to overlook than others, but the bank recently broke a cardinal rule of Wall Street: Don't mess with bankers' compensation. Forget beachfront, the hottest real estate for Wall Street is industrial land.

☆ Factbox: Which CVS rivals also own primary care services
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Here is a list of some big companies that are also providing medical services or have announced similar deals:UnitedHealth Group IncUnitedHealth's (UNH.N) Optum Health business provides services that range from primary care to specialty care such as cardiology and oncology. UnitedHealth last year also announced a deal to buy LHC Group (LHCG.O), which provides healthcare services at home, for about $5.4 billion. Walgreens Boots AlliancePharmacy chain Walgreens (WBA.O) in 2021 took a majority stake in primary care provider VillageMD, which has nearly 400 clinics in the United States including 200 co-located with Walgreens retails stores, as of the end of 2022. VillageMD completed the acquisition of urgent care provider Summit Health in a deal valued at $9 billion. Amazon.com IncAmazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) agreed to buy primary care provider One Medical for $3.49 billion in July to expand its virtual healthcare and add brick-and-mortar doctors' offices.

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