Virtual health provider Transcarent announced Monday that it will acquire part of digital health company 98point6 in a $100 million deal, which will allow Transcarent to gain access to 98point6’s AI-powered virtual care platform.
The $100 million deal is expected to close March 31 and is a combination of equity and cash, said Glen Tullman, CEO of Transcarent.
San Francisco-based Transcarent primarily serves self-insured employers and provides care that patients can access through their phone or via the web. Through its solution, patients can book visits with an in-network provider, schedule a provider to come to their home for care, access therapists and specialists and receive prescriptions that can be picked up at their local pharmacy or delivered to their home. Seattle, Washington-based 98point6 provides text-based primary care services via its AI-powered solution for employers and health plans.
When patients start their care process with Transcarent, they’ll begin with a chat — which will be powered by 98point6 — and will be directed to the care they need.
“What we’ve found is that not everybody wants to be in a video conversation … So at just the time when we’re talking about the shift of telehealth and virtual health to text, we’re also talking about AI,” Tullman said in an interview. “All of a sudden, in the last year, AI has blown up. But 98point6 has been at it for four or five years. So we’re able to acquire this technology and have a three or four or five year head start on everybody else.”
Transcarent already provides a text-based option, but has been doing it through third parties, according to Tullman.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
“We felt we needed full control of the front-end process, because how you start determines where you end up,” he said. “If you have a great start, you have a lot of confidence and trust, you get good guidance, then you follow through … You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.”
In addition to the company’s technology, Transcarent will also be able to work with 98point6’s affiliated medical group of providers and its client base. The latter includes employers like Boeing, Costco and Chipotle, and health plans like Aetna and First Choice Health. Following the acquisition, 98point6’s clients will be able to access Transcarent’s services as well, including its pharmacy care and home-based care.
Through this acquisition, Tullman ultimately hopes to make the healthcare experience easier for patients and providers. He explained that both patients and physicians are burnt out, and combining 98point6’s technology with Transcarent’s processes will address those problems.
“In this country, we need to do a better job of delivering care,” he stated. “The best way to do that is to use technology where appropriate to deliver better information and better care to people and pair that up with physicians.”
Photo: mikdam, Getty Images
