About enrollees have a psychological sickness, however 40% of these over the age of fifty with severe psychological sickness .
That’s the hole Writer Well being is making an attempt to fill. The corporate, which Wednesday with $115 million in financing, targets seniors with severe psychological sickness and substance use problems by working with Medicare Benefit plans. It additionally introduced its first payer partnership with Humana in South Florida. , primarily based in Boston, gives digital and in-person care with a group that consists of specialised physicians, nurses, therapists and neighborhood well being staff.
The corporate treats sufferers with extreme situations together with despair, anxiousness, schizophrenia, bipolar dysfunction, Alzheimer’s and substance use problems. Its providers embody diagnostic evaluations, medicine prescriptions, psychotherapy, discuss remedy and social help.
The $115 million in financing was led by Basic Atlantic and included participation from Flare Capital Companions. Michael Greeley, co-founder and normal associate of Flare Capital Companions, mentioned the agency selected to put money into Writer Well being as a result of it’s filling an unmet want.
“[There are] disappointingly poor current care fashions which can be scaled and so we expect there is a chance in partnership with Humana … to offer actually transformative providers to that inhabitants that’s simply woefully underserved at this time,” Greeley mentioned in an interview.
The senior inhabitants is quickly rising, with the variety of People ages 65 and older anticipated to achieve 80 million by 2040, in response to the .
With the financing, Writer Well being is targeted on advancing its expertise and increasing into new markets, mentioned Dr. Katherine Hobbs, CEO of the corporate, in an interview. Whereas its providers are at the moment solely provided in Florida, the startup plans to broaden into different places and work with further Medicare Benefit and Particular Wants plans by 2024. Writer Well being may also use the funding to rent extra workers.
The association with Humana is at the moment primarily based on a fee-for-service mannequin. Nonetheless, Writer Well being goals to transition right into a value-based care mannequin, with a give attention to behavioral well being outcomes like decreasing signs of despair, in addition to a give attention to bodily well being outcomes like seeing an enchancment in glucose administration for diabetes, Hobbs mentioned.
The precise remedy of the affected person (comparable to from the nurse practitioner, doctor and therapist) is all achieved just about, however the neighborhood well being staff employed by Writer Well being work with sufferers in particular person to deal with social challenges and assist with expertise. This help might be offered in sufferers’ properties, on the main care workplace or different places. This hybrid mannequin is constructed to ease workforce shortages, in response to Hobbs.
“As a result of we’re providing providers by telehealth, we are able to recruit actually anyplace within the nation and license individuals appropriately within the state the place sufferers are being seen,” Hobbs acknowledged. “It builds actual efficiencies on the group in the way in which that we’re utilizing the MD actually for essentially the most complicated sufferers. That MD is the scarcest particular person within the workforce and so they can now serve a much wider inhabitants of individuals as a result of they’re working by way of this group and in addition working by telehealth.”
The title of Writer Well being got here from the thought of serving to sufferers “outline the life that they need to lead,” Hobbs added.
“You’re the creator of your personal life story,” she mentioned. “It might look a technique at this time, however you may have the power to put in writing new chapters to construct a special life tomorrow. Our firm is right here to help individuals, to establish and construct on these instruments in order that they’ve the company to put in writing that story.”
One other firm that treats severe psychological sickness is , although this firm doesn’t give attention to older populations like Writer Well being does. additionally gives help for severe psychological sickness, although it cares for these with extra delicate situations as effectively and sufferers of all totally different age teams.
Finally, in launching Writer Well being, Hobbs goals to assist as many seniors battling severe psychological sickness and substance use dysfunction as potential.
“We’ve recognized this main want nationally. … How will we create as rapidly as potential a scalable mannequin that truly engages this affected person inhabitants after which will get them the best care such that they get higher and might stay of their properties, stay locally? That’s our singular focus,” she mentioned.
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