Strive Health, which is integrating digital health and analytics into the much-needed area of chronic kidney disease management, secured a $140 million Series B round of funding led by CapitalG, Alphabet’s independent growth fund. Another new investor, Redpoint, joins current investors NEA, Town Hall Ventures, Ascension Ventures, and Echo Ventures. Strive’s total funding at this point is over $223 million. Strive’s model is the improvement of renal disease through managing specialized patient care delivery with payers and providers, with data analytics integrated into a patient care model focused on the home, e.g. telehealth and home dialysis. Financially, they take risk on chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. Current contracts are with Humana, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Independence Blue Cross, SSM Health, and Conviva Care Centers.   Release, FierceHealthcare

Speaking of home telehealth, the Moving Health Home coalition, formed by lobbyist Sirona Strategies, has onboard a founding group of companies that are generally competitive with each other: Amazon Care, Amwell, hospital systems Ascension Health and Intermountain Health, risk-based senior care group Landmark Health, Signify Health, and big Series D winner Dispatch Health [TTA 4 March]. Their stated intent is to influence policy to expand reimbursed home health care and advance the usage of home-based health based on evidence of effectiveness and cost savings. STAT,  MHH release

Meanwhile, back in DC, CMS says “oops!” on four telehealth codes inadvertently included in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) [TTA 3 Dec 20]. The 3 March Federal Register notice removes four codes listed in the temporary Category 3, which will remain in place through the end of the year as the pandemic public health emergency (PHE) has gone into 2021. Becker’s Hospital Review:

1. 96121: Neurobehavioral status exam by physician or other qualified health professional
2. 99221: Initial hospital care
3. 99222: Initial hospital care
4. 99223: Initial hospital care

Hinge Health acquires Enso. Enso developed a high-frequency pulsed, non-invasive, drug-free musculoskeletal (MSK) pain therapy which has been branded and added to Hinge Health’s MSK offerings. Product website. In January, Hinge Health raised $300 million in a Series D [TTA 14 Jan] as a rumored prelude to an IPO and made some management changes in preparation for same [TTA 27 Feb]. Terms and management alignments were not disclosed. Release

UK’s HelloSelf has raised a £5.5 million Series A funding round from OMERS Ventures. HelloSelf provides digital therapy and access to “the UK’s best clinical psychologists”. HelloSelf enters a crowded field of behavioral therapy providers, with SilverCloud Health dominant in the UK with the NHS. HelloSelf is concentrating on the B2B segment with employers. This Editor notes the much lower raises UK companies enjoy even in this hot area. Mobihealthnews

Tyto Care added Spectrum Health, a western Michigan health system, for live 24/7 video consults using Tyto Care’s exam kit. Release