fiercehealthcare.com

Thanks to a newly announced plan, more than 1,750 health plans will soon cap out-of-pocket costs for insulin at just $35 a month. However, because insurers typically calculate copays based on the list price, if that patient owed a 20% copay, she would pay $80 as opposed to $32. These costs add up and net insurers and PBMs billions that should instead be put toward reducing patients' direct, out-of-pocket pharmacy costs. Under the new program, Americans in participating Part D plans will only responsible for a flat copay of $35 per month for their insulin needs.

These startups raised a record $576 million in funding—surpassing the prior quarterly record by over 60%—across 44 deals in the first quarter, according to market research firm CB Insights. Lyra Health, which offers a mental health platform based on evidence-based treatments, scored a $75 million funding round in March, and Modern Health, which offers a suite of mental health solutions comprised of digital programs, virtual coaching and clinical therapy, landed $31 million in January. The company offers a clinically validated virtual reality platform to treat mental health patients and plans to use the funding to expand in the U.S. France-based C2Care offers a virtual reality platform for mental health professionals and raised seed funding. Funding to North American companies reached an all-time high: North American healthcare companies raised $10.3 billion in the first quarter of 2020, the highest quarterly level on record and a 35% increase from the fourth quarter in 2019.

The venture-backed women's health group is focused on rebuilding the model for women's healthcare by offering a practice that is designed for and by women, Lisa Shah, M. D., chief medical officer for Advantia Health, told FierceHealthcare. The new practice, called Liv by Advantia Health, is designed to provide a more convenient and personalized experience for women by offering integrated care including gynecology, obstetrics, primary care, mental wellness, physical therapy and acupuncture. San Francisco-based startup Forward operates a direct primary care business model and embeds technology including artificial intelligence, sensors and mobile apps in ways that aim to make healthcare more closely mirror consumer experiences. Ten women's health digital startups brought in $177 million in funding through the third quarter of 2019, and funding for women's health companies has risen 812% from 2014 to 2018, according to Rock Health.

I see 2020 as an inflection point for safety in health care—a year to remember how far we’ve come, but also a year to look forward to what’s possible. With this in mind, I predict that 2020 will be the year we start to see a paradigm shift in healthcare providers from implementing incremental improvements in quality and safety to making zero harm a priority—and reality—for patients in their organizations. The system will also continue to work alongside internal and external stakeholders to improve health outcomes, promote health equity and eliminate health care disparities. Insurance companies and pharma have long been the subject of criticism but in 2020, they will welcome a new friend into the harsh public spotlight, as it finally becomes acceptable to call out hospitals for their role in the failures of health care cost containment.