Investing in Greater Good Health
We are thrilled to lead the Series A investment in Greater Good Health, joining our friends at LRVHealth, Health Velocity Capital, Optum Ventures, Martin Ventures, Epsilon Health Investors and Commonwealth Care Alliance.
Authors: Vic Lanio, Uma Veerappan, Dan Gebremedhin, MD, MBA
Since 2021, Greater Good Health has deployed Nurse Practitioner (NP)-led clinical programs and services to enable risk-bearing customers to advance their value-based care footprint and succeed in new payment models, like Medicare Advantage and ACO REACH. With this new investment, Greater Good Health is reimagining value-based senior primary care in rural geographies with an innovative NP-led model, with plans to open three new clinics by January 2024.
As proud former investors in Iora Health (acquired by ONEM and later AMZN), we are big believers in value-based primary care models. To successfully fulfill Greater Good Health’s vision, a team with relevant expertise in risk-bearing care models is crucial given the complexity and ever-changing regulatory landscape. Led by Sylvia Hastanan, a nurse by training who brings nearly 20 years of experience at organizations including Healthcare Partners, DaVita, and Optum, the Greater Good Health team includes industry veterans with decades of expertise in clinical program development in primary care. A testament to her leadership, many of her former colleagues have joined her as employees, advisors, and even investors in the company.
Most early innovators in value-based primary care have focused on major metropolitan markets. This was an important first step towards executing on risk-bearing clinical models, but we recognize that a significant portion of the country is still underserved, lacking access to high-quality, outcomes-driven primary care. While rural areas have a higher percentage of individuals above the age of 65 (18%) compared to urban areas (12%), there is a substantial physician shortage, with only 10% of physicians practicing in rural America. The Greater Good Health model is intended to better serve smaller metropolitan areas and more rural geographies in which a traditional primary care model may not be feasible due to access and/or cost constraints.
NPs are well-equipped for clinical leadership in primary care, particularly in value-based models, but in many cases lack the platform and infrastructure to do so at scale. In many settings, NPs already coordinate care, manage chronic conditions, develop patient & family trust, and understand the influence of social determinants on access to healthcare services. NPs graduate and practice in primary care at three times the rate of physicians, and according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, NPs are anticipated to be the fastest-growing profession in the nation through 2032. Greater Good Health intends to be the “employer of choice” for NPs nationwide, and is dedicated to supporting and elevating NPs into clinical leadership roles.
The traction that Greater Good Health has generated is exciting. The company recently announced its partnership with Humana to open primary care clinics in Missoula, Billings and Great Falls, Montana. They are also participating in the ACO REACH program via a partnership with a national primary care organization, and have partnered with many other regional health plans and provider organizations to further their expansion and transition to value-based care.
Below: Grand Opening of the Greater Good Health Clinic in Missoula, Montana, with the Greater Good Health team, board members, and Humana executives.
We are thrilled to join forces with the Greater Good Health team to reimagine value-based senior primary care with this stellar team. There is a lot of great work ahead of us, and we are confident that this model and others like it will write a second chapter in the evolution of value-based primary care. We look forward to a world where the best clinical models are available to all Americans, and not just those in denser metropolitan areas.
To learn more about Greater Good Health and our other investments in the primary care space, please reach out to our team — we’d love to share our perspectives!
