Cricket Health joins Fresenius Health Partners in push toward value-based nephrology care
Cricket Health, one of several value-based organizations aimed at the kidney care market, will merge with Fresenius Health Partners and InterWell Health, the companies recently announced.
The new company will operate independently under the InterWell Health brand and is valued at $2.4 billion, according to a press release.
“The new InterWell Health will bring together physicians, care management teams and providers to ensure we show up as one team and provide the best possible experience for the patients who entrust us with their care,” Bill Valle, CEO of Care Delivery for Fresenius Medical Care, said in a press release. “Cricket Health’s predictive analytics and patient engagement platform combined with the physician-led clinical approach of InterWell Health and Fresenius Health Partners’ experience and expertise in value-based care will position the organization for accelerated growth.”
InterWell Health, a subsidiary of Fresenius Health Partners, has a network of more than 1,600 nephrologists. Cricket Health offers a 24/7 care model for patients with chronic kidney disease, including multidisciplinary care teams, the company’s StageSmart predictive analytics model that helps identify kidney disease early and the MyCricket patient engagement platform, the companies said.
The new company will have more than $6 billion of medical costs under management and more than 100,000 covered patients, according to the release.
The merger “brings together strong physician leadership with leading-edge care management and technology to improve outcomes for chronic kidney disease patients and reduce costs to payers and the overall health care system,” the companies said.
By 2025, Interwell Health expects to engage and manage the care of more than 270,000 Americans living with kidney disease, increasing its medical costs under management to $11 billion, according to the release.
Robert Sepucha, current CEO of Cricket Health, will become CEO of the reformed InterWell Health. “Each patient’s situation and needs are unique, and the new organization will offer groundbreaking solutions from machine learning to highly personalized engagement that keep patients healthy, at home and out of the hospital,” Sepucha said.