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Skilled Nursing News
April 16, 2024

In this interview, Skilled Nursing News sits down with Kim Phan to talk about the growth of accountable care in skilled nursing, and what the future holds for providers as the industry evolves.

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TT Capital Partners
August 5, 2022

Company will use funding to bring its unique model to other U.S. states and enhance its technology platform.

The statements contained in this document are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of CMS. The authors assume responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the information contained in this document.

Costa Mesa, Calif., August 5, 2022 – CareConnectMD, Inc. (CCMD), a Costa Mesa, Calif., provider of primary care and care coordination services tailored to meet the needs of complex Medicare participants, today announced the close of a $25 million financing round led by Minneapolis-based TT Capital Partners (TTCP). CareConnectMD will leverage the investment to deepen its presence in California, Ohio and Texas and expand into other markets—and to enhance its technology platform to scale and streamline care delivery.

CCMD’s California-based medical group contracts with managed care and insurance plans to provide comprehensive primary and palliative care to high-risk populations in their homes or choice of care environments, such as skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). The company also partners with other primary care physician groups, enabling them to participate in value-based care (VBC) programs as a part of CCMD’s high-needs Direct Contracting Entity (DCE).

CCMD is currently one of only eight high-needs DCEs in the country selected by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to participate in the first performance of the Global and Professional Direct Contracting Model (GPDC), recently rebranded by CMS as the Accountable Care Organization Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health program (ACO REACH).

The DCE model is a financial risk-sharing arrangement developed by CMS to reduce Medicare expenditures while enhancing the quality of care to members. CMS designed the program to help drive the shift to value in Medicare, reduce the administrative burden on providers, and empower beneficiaries to engage in their own healthcare. CMS has introduced several Medicare value-based programs in recent years to reward healthcare providers with incentive payments for the quality of care they deliver, all part of CMS’s larger strategy to reform how healthcare is delivered and compensated.

“High-needs patients account for only 5 percent of the U.S. population, but 50 percent of the nation’s overall healthcare costs, providing a tremendous opportunity for innovative care models to improve quality, drive savings, and enhance the quality of life for the most frail participants,” said Dawn Owens, CEO and Partner of TT Capital Partners, who will join CCMD’s board of directors as part of the investment. “CCMD has extensive experience designing successful risk-based care delivery models and delivering care to high-needs seniors. We are delighted to be partnering with a company that is poised to be a next-generation leader in the shift to value in Medicare.”

“For 25 years, we’ve been pioneers in the healthcare of the fragile, delivering clinical care to medically complex patients,” said Kim Phan, founder and CEO of CCMD. “We’ve developed a highly repeatable care model that has proven to improve both care and quality of life while also reducing costs. And as one of just eight high-needs DCEs in CMS’s new program, we now have the opportunity to revolutionize care delivery by allowing providers and facilities to enter into value-based contracts. We are excited about the opportunities before us and thrilled to welcome TT Capital Partners as an investor and a partner.”

CCMD Managing Director Alan Hoops, who previously served as executive chairman of HealthEssentials, as chairman and CEO of CareMore Health Plan, and as chairman and CEO of PacifiCare Health Systems, added, “CCMD has assembled a highly skilled team with extensive experience delivering quality care for medically complex and high-needs patients. The company is addressing an urgent market need and is well positioned to drive improved outcomes and meaningfully impact in the shift to value in Medicare.”

CCMD provides comprehensive care for medically complex and high-needs patients, whether they live in specialized facilities or their own homes, including routine visits, supportive care, geriatric behavioral services, and 24/7 on-call providers. The company also offers palliative care services and telemedicine.

Chicago-based Ziegler acted as financial advisor to CCMD. Legal advisor for CCMD was Hooper, Lundy & Bookman, P.C.; and legal advisor for TTCP was Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP.

About CareConnectMD
CareConnectMD provides personalized and compassionate medical care for fragile and medically complex patients in skilled nursing and long-term care facilities, as well as in the home. The company’s high-needs Direct Contracting Entity (DCE) is one of only eight high-needs DCEs in the first cohort of the program announced by CMS. Through the DCE, the company enables original Medicare providers to enter into value-based arrangements, aligning incentives across all healthcare constituents to provide the best care possible. The company’s highest priority remains ensuring that patients receive the right care at the right time, through improved communication, better coordination, and compassionate care. Helping patients live their best life. To learn more, visit www.CareConnectMD.com.

About TT Capital Partners
TT Capital Partners (TTCP) is a value-add healthcare investor that provides capital, expertise and insight to healthcare technology and services companies that have the potential to become market leaders. With its exclusive focus on healthcare, extensive industry network, and deep investing and operating experience, TTCP has invested in some of the most high-growth businesses that are innovating and disrupting how healthcare is delivered, managed and consumed. CCMD joins several other TTCP investments that are leading the transition to value-based care. Learn more at www.TTCapitalPartners.com.

PR Newswire
Jul 22, 2021 | Source

Leading Geriatric Care Provider Partners with Best in Class Technology Platform

COSTA MESA, Calif., July 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CareConnectMD, a medical group that elevates care for the fragile and medically complex residing in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs or nursing homes), today announced a partnership with Curve Health, a company that delivers connected senior care via a care enablement platform integrating telemedicine, smart billing, health information exchange, and predictive analytics. This partnership will help expand services and provide an enhanced patient offering for residents in SNFs.

"Our passion for bringing together the fragmented care the vulnerable senior receives has been our driving force since our inception in 1996," said Kim Phan, the CEO and Co-Founder of CareConnectMD. "Partnering with Curve Health, the best technology platform we've seen for realizing our mission, will help close the gaps that hold care back and will reinvent the quality of lives for those who need it most, in a modern, yet caring way. And in a way that totally differentiates from other physician groups by delivering outsized value to patients, families, SNFs and payors. We're thrilled to partner with Curve Health to bring this solution to those we care for."

The partnership between CareConnectMD and Curve Health will improve patient care and outcomes, increase census, drive higher per patient reimbursement, and ensure SNFs are operating effectively and efficiently. A recent study by Western Journal of Emergency Medicine found care provided through the Curve Health platform reduced SNF patient hospital admissions by up to 80%. The study also identified significant ROI for SNF's and cost savings for payors.

"I've long believed that coupling exceptional technology with forward looking care providers is the formula for solving the most significant problems in our healthcare system," said Rob MacNaughton, CEO of Curve Health. "There is no challenge greater than providing optimal care for residents in nursing homes, both from the perspective of the patients and the caregivers. The Curve Health platform was designed by and for its users, and CareConnectMD is the ideal partner to optimize value for all stakeholders, and most importantly provide optimal care for patients."

CareConnectMD and Curve Health are rolling out the partnership in SNFs in San Diego and will be expanding to value-focused SNFs across the state.

About Curve HealthCurve
Health is senior care without walls. Founded in April of 2020 on a platform that's reduced patient transfers from Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) to Emergency Departments by 80%, Curve advances connected senior care by bridging the silos that hinder healthcare delivery today; enabling physicians to remotely care for patients in SNFs, at home, in ambulances or wherever they may be. Curve combines telemedicine, a health information exchange, predictive analytics, and smart billing into a single platform, resulting in higher quality care + significant return on investment while ensuring the most seamless patient experience. To learn more visit: www.curvehealth.com.

About CareConnect
MDSince 1996, CareConnectMD (formerly Gerinet Medical Associates) has been providing personalized and compassionate medical care for our fragile and medically complex patients in skilled nursing and long-term care facilities and in the home. Our value-based, connected care experience has helped us successfully navigate hundreds of thousands of our patients in California, Nevada, and Arizona through the healthcare system, dramatically improving their quality of care and their quality of life. Our clinicians bridge the gaps in care as our patients transition from inpatient to post-acute settings, including going home. Our highest priority is to ensure our patients receive the right care at the right time, through improved communication, better coordination, and compassionate care. To learn more, visit www.CareConnectMD.com.

Home Healthcare News
By Joyce Famakinwa | July 7, 2022 | Source

CareConnectMD Inc. — a Costa Mesa, California-based and physician-led medical group — has raised a $25 million financing round led by the Minneapolis-based TT Capital Partners.

The funds will go towards expanding CareConnectMD’s footprint in California, Ohio and Texas, as well as other markets. The $25 million has also been earmarked for investment into the company’s technology platform as well.

“The funds will help build our infrastructure to replicate our clinical model in the various markets that we’re in,” Kim Phan, founder and CEO of CareConnectMD, told Home Health Care News. “It will also build our technology infrastructure, analytics infrastructure, as well as our business, marketing and growth development process.”

CareConnectMD serves the high needs of medically complex, fragile seniors. Many of the company’s patients are residing in nursing homes, and others are home-based care patients.

As a veteran of the post-acute care space, Phan has always believed that there was a better way to take care of fragile populations. CareConnectMD has set its sights on improving the care that these individuals have access to.

“What we strive to do is create a model of care that can bring more primary care for our patients in the program, so that we can treat them in place,” Phan said. “We really take great care in coordinating the care of the patient, so that they don’t have to be transferred to the hospital unnecessarily or the ER.”

In order to accomplish this, CareConnectMD has created a mobile model of care that meets the patient wherever they’re at, whether that’s a long-term care facility or their own home.

In terms of reimbursement, CareConnectMD operates under the High Needs Population Direct Contracting Entity (DCE) model, which was introduced in 2021 by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI).

“It’s a better iteration of an ACO basically,” Phan said. “In this program, CMMI will contract with direct-contracting entities that will, in turn, coordinate a network of providers to deliver care to a specific population of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries.”

Under this model, CareConnectMD is responsible for the total cost of care for Medicare. As a result, the company is always looking to be innovative in how it cares for its patient population, according to Phan.

Of all of the DCE programs, there are only eight high-needs ones.

“We’re a very small subset,” Phan said. “One thing that is unique is CMS has recognized that this special population often does not get the care they need. They’re looking for more innovative models of care that can bring more services to these fragile and medically complex populations.”

CareConnectMD has also formed relationships with home-based care organizations.

“We have a preferred home health agency that we work with,” Phan said. “We have groups of physicians and nurse practitioners that have home-based patients. We have about 300+ patients in the home setting that we take care of in the Inland Empire area. Due to COVID, more and more patients will be shifting into the home. Our model of care is basically just shifting from skilled-nursing facilities into the home setting. That’s what we’ve been working on scaling.”

Healthcare Innovation Group
By David Raths | July 6, 2022 | Source

CareConnectMD Inc., a Costa Mesa, Calif., provider of primary care and care coordination services tailored to meet the needs of complex Medicare participants, has received funding to deepen its presence in California, Ohio and Texas and expand into other markets.

The company announced the close of a $25 million financing round led by Minneapolis-based TT Capital Partners (TTCP). CareConnectMD (CCMD) will also use the funding to enhance its technology platform to scale and streamline care delivery.

CCMD’s California-based medical group contracts with managed care and insurance plans to provide comprehensive primary and palliative care to high-risk populations in their homes or choice of care environments, such as skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). The company also partners with other primary care physician groups, enabling them to participate in value-based care programs as a part of CCMD’s high-needs Direct Contracting Entity (DCE).

CCMD says it is currently one of only eight high-needs DCEs in the country selected by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to participate in the first performance of the Global and Professional Direct Contracting Model (GPDC), recently rebranded by CMS as the Accountable Care Organization Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health program (ACO REACH).

CMS designed the DCE program to help drive the shift to value in Medicare, reduce the administrative burden on providers, and empower beneficiaries to engage in their own healthcare.

“For 25 years, we’ve been pioneers in the healthcare of the fragile, delivering clinical care to medically complex patients,” said Kim Phan, founder and CEO of CCMD, in a statement. “We’ve developed a highly repeatable care model that has proven to improve both care and quality of life while also reducing costs. And as one of just eight high-needs DCEs in CMS’ new program, we now have the opportunity to revolutionize care delivery by allowing providers and facilities to enter into value-based contracts. We are excited about the opportunities before us and thrilled to welcome TT Capital Partners as an investor and a partner.”

CCMD Managing Director Alan Hoops, who previously served as executive chairman of HealthEssentials, as chairman and CEO of CareMore Health Plan, and as chairman and CEO of PacifiCare Health Systems, added in a statement, “CCMD has assembled a highly skilled team with extensive experience delivering quality care for medically complex and high-needs patients. The company is addressing an urgent market need and is well positioned to drive improved outcomes and meaningfully impact in the shift to value in Medicare.”