To Be of Use

January 19, 2021

Written By Farzad Mostashari

This post was adapted from a note that Farzad sent to our Aledade partner practices.
 

I am writing with some news.
 
I am proud that Aledade has been a source of stability for our practice partners during the trials of the past 10 months. During COVID, we have tried to find ways to be of use to front-line physicians who have been the unsung and often neglected heroes of this pandemic. We have directed our resources and used your collective scale to compensate for the challenges you have faced — reduced patient volumes, the transition to telemedicine, difficult-to-navigate government programs, one-sided payer policies, broken PPE supply chains, and most recently, a COVID vaccine distribution program that has made no provisions for community physicians

Most of all, I am proud of the success of our vision to establish shared savings payments as a meaningful source of revenue for independent primary care practices and community health centers during a time when the failures of fee-for-service for primary care became evident. Last year, we helped bring more than $50 million to practices in the form of shared savings checks. This year, we’re aiming for $100 million. And next year, we’re targeting $150 million.
 
Our collective success together with practices all across the country has not gone unnoticed. More practices than ever before joined our ranks in 2020, and more health plans are finally seeing the advantages of working with independent primary care practices and CHCs on value-based payment models through Aledade. We now have multi-state value-based contracts with nearly every national payer and most of the Blues where we operate. The flywheel is spinning, and investors are seeing the opportunity in investing in our growth over the long run. 

And that’s why I am writing.

Last week, we raised $100 million of funding from a group of leading growth investors. These investors have led financing of many successful companies, from Salesforce to Netflix to Peloton. They believe in our mission and our potential to become a major force for good in America’s healthcare system over a long period, and we are fortunate to have them by our side.
 
What will this investment make possible? A 50-state growth strategy. Extending our support to all patient segments, from Medicare Advantage to Commercial to Medicaid. Improving the scope and speed of the data and the software we provide. Continued subsidies for our integrated telehealth solution. A host of new initiatives to bring new resources to primary care practices across the country, and their patients, for remote blood pressure monitoring, predicting and preventing unplanned dialysis, home visits, and much more. 

I’m proud of what our team and primary care heroes across the country have accomplished together, and excited to add to our collective strength in numbers. 

With a servant’s heart,
Farzad