AndHealth, the chronic disease-reversal startup created by CoverMyMeds co-founder Matt Scantland, has reached a deal could help it improve health equity for underserved Ohioans statewide.
The Ohio Association of Community Health Centers has negotiated a statewide master agreement with AndHealth that can be adopted by any of its 59 member organizations. Besides the trusted seal of approval, that saves individual nonprofits the administrative work of vetting the service and negotiating a contract.
Treating chronic disease also is good for the economy, said association CEO Julie DiRossi-King.
"Healthy people work," DiRossi-King said. "Largely, our patients are working. They may be working two full-time jobs."
Samantha Porter
AndHealth grew ninefold last year, said Scantland, founder and CEO. Revenue figures and employee counts are not disclosed. It has expanded to Indiana and Massachusetts as well.
The startup also now is a specialty pharmacy, dispensing the expensive drugs often prescribed for those conditions but not carried at retail pharmacies.
The missions of the federally supported nonprofits and the venture-backed tech startup are "in lockstep," DiRossi-King said.
AndHealth fills a key gap, she said. Health centers receive bipartisan funding support from Congress and offer primary care plus behavioral health, dentistry and retail pharmacy. But patients give up on at least half of specialty referrals.
"Our patients, they're often marginalized. They're not prioritized, certainly," DiRossi-King said.
Even established patients with insurance can wait months for an appointment with a specialist, she said. And patients covered by Medicaid often face long waitlists or outright refusals from specialists, she added, especially in rural areas.
Some health centers do have referral partnerships, DiRossi-King said, including Columbus centers with Nationwide Children's Hospital and Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
"We're working with health centers to really become multi-specialty providers," Scantland said. "This is a logical extension of a community health center, because it just broadens their clinical capabilities."
That also means a broader patient base for AndHealth, treating an underserved population with chronic conditions that make up the bulk of healthcare spending.
"We can create a large sustainable model with this," Scantland said.
Community health centers, also called federally qualified health centers, are the largest providers of primary care in the nation, serving 1 in 11 Americans.
The centers offer high-quality care that's affordable, close to home and delivered in a culturally competent way, Scantland said.
"We've actually found this incredible way to bring better access and outcomes," Scantland said. "We can expand the capacity of our healthcare system by doing things a lot more efficiently."
The statewide partnership grew from the one that started in spring 2023 with Mansfield-based Third Street Family Health Services.
How did AndHealth start? How does it work?
Scantland was co-founder and CEO of CoverMyMeds, which was acquired for an eventual $1.44 billion by McKesson Corp. and still has a large Columbus office.
Incorporated as And Health LLC, his new business launched in February 2022 with $57 million in private equity funding. Unlike telehealth platforms that connect to doctors, AndHealth becomes the direct care provider as well.
The startup's investors include CoverMyMeds backer Francisco Partners and a VC offshoot of the American Medical Association. Investors are aligned with the AndHealth mission, Scantland said.
AndHealth "force multiplies" specialists through technology and support staff, with frequent contacts that the patient can make from home.
Patients get blood tests and other diagnostics at a lab and see doctors mostly via telehealth to diagnose root causes, such as food intolerances or musculoskeletal issues. They also can go to a clinic where a specialist via telehealth works with an on-site nurse or technician.
The model helps the startup recruit physicians, even if there is a shortage in their fields.
"What they want most is to see patients get better," Scantland said. "We're giving them an opportunity to practice in a way where they don't have to worry about affordability and access."
Besides the doctors, the service includes health coaches and social workers. It contracts with a meal-delivery service that specializes in medically prescribed menus.
Instead of waiting months for an appointment, taking a day off work and receiving no followup, patients have ongoing interactions with the app to coach the behavioral changes a doctor recommends. Patients on the platform average about 10 messages per month, with an average response time of 26 minutes, Scantland said.
"All of that makes the right choice the easy choice," DiRossi-King said.
Insurance, whether commercial or governmental, reimburses for doctor visits and patients have co-payments if required for lab tests and prescriptions. The more efficient care delivery creates a surplus to pay for meals, health-coaching and other wraparound services.
At the health centers, AndHealth charges on the same income-based sliding fee scale, including for specialty drugs.
"We've designed a model to make sure everyone gets their medication in an economically sustainable way," Scantland said.
The partnership marks an expansion from its first client base, large self-insured employers adding AndHealth as a benefit. Another client base is small and mid-size businesses through a plan offered by the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. AndHealth reports 100% customer retention.
The goal was always to find a way to reach a wider swath of the population, Scantland said, and health centers not only serve a large group but can bring new patients to the system who weren't getting any care before.
AndHealth treats conditions such as migraine, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, irritable bowel syndrome and other autoimmune disease.
The commonalities: A painful condition that disrupts a patient's life and has a shortage of specialists, but that can be treated with sustained intervention and behavioral changes.
"We're one of the few (digital healthcare) companies focused on complex patients," Scantland said. "It's where the unnecessary suffering is. It's also where the costs are.
"Every day there's a patient able to show up for work or care for their kid in a new way. It's been the most rewarding work I've ever done."
