Oracle’s Seema Verma rumored to be on a list for a new CEO position with a major lobbying group. The EVP and general manager of Oracle Health and Life Sciences is reportedly under consideration for a new job as CEO of PhRMA. A paywalled story in Endpoints News broke that she is among a group of “Republican policy wonks, former lawmakers” in the running, four months in, for this pharmaceutical lobbying organizational chief position. If the Reddit rumor boards are to be believed, she’s already half out the door. If the former Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) administrator to 2021 departs Oracle, it will be the sixth Oracle Health senior level departure this year [TTA 3 Mar]. Those departures for various reasons shook Oracle Health. Verma, on the other hand, has had a relatively low profile at Oracle Health, though reporting to COO Mike Sicilia. If she does depart Oracle, enough time has passed since her CMS position to dispel the Federal-private industry ‘revolving door’ tag, though undoubtedly as EHR head she has been working with the VA. Developing
ATA Action was kind enough to flag for this Editor that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) may finally be moving toward a new rule for telemedicine prescribing of controlled substances. Yesterday (25 August) the “Special Registrations for Telemedicine and Limited State Telemedicine Registrations” final rule was submitted to the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for review. While under review, the text is not public, but the OMB pending EO is here with the limited text under the RIN: 1117-AB40 The text of the RIN includes that “DEA is currently reviewing the over 6,400 public comments submitted on the Special Registration for Telemedicine NPRM (Notice of Proposed Rulemaking) published on January 17, 2025.”meaning that they are still working with a year-old NPRM. DEA has extended telemedicine prescribing rules several times, most recently at the end of 2025 to cover full year 2026. A final action to determine approval of the rule is due in November, according to the timetable.
ATA Action’s statement, per their email, is “ATA Action is actively engaged as the rule moves through OMB review, pressing the priorities we have consistently advanced: protecting patient access while maintaining safeguards against diversion — without unnecessary in-person mandates, duplicative state-by-state registration requirements, excessive reporting burdens, or implementation timelines that make participation impractical for legitimate clinicians and healthcare organizations.” They also cite geographic “red flags” that pharmacies face when a prescription results from a telehealth visit and state laws that are more restrictive than Federal law.
Brooklyn’s Cityblock Health’s goes country with Homeward Health acquisition in an all-stock transaction. It is on the surface an odd match: an urban-focused value-based care provider that primarily serves complex needs and provides additional support for Medicaid and Medicare/Medicaid dual-eligible patients expanding into underserved rural markets. What it does promise Cityblock is growth from its present claimed 200,000 members in 10 states and annualized revenue of $2.2 billion, up 77% year-over-year. Homeward serves around 50,000 rurally-based Medicare Advantage (only) members and 5,000 providers in Michigan and Minnesota through a Michigan clinic, mobile clinics and telehealth. It partners with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Aetna for Medicare Advantage. Further financial arrangements were not disclosed.
Homeward’s CEO Dr. Jenny Schneider will remain connected with Cityblock as a “trusted advisor” according to a Cityblock spokesperson and Homeward’s brand and operation will remain. According to her LinkedIn post announcing the acquisition, she previously served as a Cityblock board member. She and another Livongo alumnus, Amar Kendale, launched Homeward Health in 2022 to close healthcare gaps in rural America, accounting for over 61% of primary care shortage areas and a 23% higher mortality rate.
Both Medicaid and Medicare Advantage face challenges–funding cuts for Medicaid and with Medicare Advantage, payers reducing reimbursement rates based on rising costs and increased Federal scrutiny of higher costs, upcoding, overpayments, and bonus programs. 23% of Medicare Advantage enrollees are in a special needs plan (SNP) KFF
Cityblock touts its CORE—Care Orchestration and Resourcing Engine—as an AI-based operating system underpinning our outcomes-based care platform to use almost 10 years of member data to close care gaps for specific members, as well as AI tools “handling routine engagement and administrative work that have already freed up 44,599 hours of clinician time this year, including 42,148 calls handled by AI agents.” Homeward Health’s platform is also AI-native.
Cityblock simultaneously announced a Series E of $116 million led by General Catalyst for a total of close to $1 billion. General Catalyst is an investor in both companies. (Is this a return to the General Catalyst ‘portfolio condensation’ strategy that created Commure last year?–Ed.)
Interestingly, Homeward Health is organized as a public benefit corporation (PBC) and a B Corp, certified by B Lab as meeting their standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. It’s doubtful that will carry over to Cityblock. MedCityNews, FierceHealthcare, Becker’s, Cityblock’s CEO Toyin Ajayi blog post
Biggar, Scotland senior housing environmental sensor-based technology test saves thousands, but across Scotland could save millions. The test at the retirement home Langvout Court, part of Bield Housing & Care, was of environmental and activity sensors developed and implemented by Glasgow-based technology company Archangel and the Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre, funded by the UK Government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology through the Glasgow City Region 5G Smart and Connected Places Programme. The automated alerts were directed and coordinated with Bield staff. The sensors alerted the staff to a potential boiler breakdown during Storm Éowyn, high humidity levels and faulty extractor fans in buildings, and resident temperature and activity changes that could indicate changes in health. Annualized savings in the six-month test were estimated at £7,670 in heating costs and £2,825 in maintenance costs, along with improved tenant safety, reduced manual checks and stronger regulatory compliance, creating positive ROI in year one. FarrPoint, which independently evaluated the project, extrapolated that applying Langvout Court’s system across Scotland’s retirement housing developments could generate annual savings of £18.5 million. Archangel case study published in TechUK, release in Care Sector Hub
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