From Hospitals to Holistic Health

From Hospitals to Holistic Health

In San Antonio, internist Saleh Jaafar, MD, and pulmonologist Jairo Melo, MD, were losing patients, revenue and sleep. The tangled web of primary care, specialists, surgery centers, emergency rooms and nursing homes was hardly working as a system. The busy physicians had ambitious plans to coordinate care but limited business experience or capital to execute at scale. Then they met venture capitalists Charlie Martin and Devin Carty. Martin Ventures was working on an entirely new business thesis after building Vanguard Health Systems and seeing all the well-intended care that goes to waste. They increasingly understood the traditional healthcare system wasn’t really designed for health. Too many patients lacked a quarterback with skin in the game to guide their care. So they designed a company to change that. They called it Wellvana. The word casts a vision for communities made healthy as care focuses entirely on quality rather than quantity. The name also transcends the current state of healthcare to a future where there’s no more suffering caused by a broken system, where patients are put first, and providers lead the way.

In San Antonio, internist Saleh Jaafar, MD, and pulmonologist Jairo Melo, MD, were losing patients, revenue and sleep. The tangled web of primary care, specialists, surgery centers, emergency rooms and nursing homes was hardly working as a system. The busy physicians had ambitious plans to coordinate care but limited business experience or capital to execute at scale. Then they met venture capitalists Charlie Martin and Devin Carty. Martin Ventures was working on an entirely new business thesis after building Vanguard Health Systems and seeing all the well-intended care that goes to waste. They increasingly understood the traditional healthcare system wasn’t really designed for health. Too many patients lacked a quarterback with skin in the game to guide their care. So they designed a company to change that. They called it Wellvana. The word casts a vision for communities made healthy as care focuses entirely on quality rather than quantity. The name also transcends the current state of healthcare to a future where there’s no more suffering caused by a broken system, where patients are put first, and providers lead the way.

Life-Changing Moves

Life-Changing Moves

With high-minded aspirations, the startup went deep in one market — San Antonio — and, in 2019, established a network consisting of providers that agreed to work collaboratively with Wellvana to deliver value-based care that improves outcomes and lowers the total cost of care. Primary care doctors and specialists in the San Antonio area joined an MSSP Accountable Care Organization, managed in part by Wellvana, and had access to Medicare Advantage contracts, geared to keep seniors healthy while lowering the cost of care. As Wellvana grew, CMS created new opportunities to serve patients in traditional Medicare, such as through its Global and Professional Direct Contracting Model, a predecessor program to the ACO REACH Model. Through the GPDC Model, Wellvana could now take full financial risk on behalf of primary care practices and help them succeed through data insights, coding assistance and high-touch clinical support. As adoption accelerated through COVID-19, Wellvana emerged as a leader in the next generation of value-based enablers. Its high-performing physicians are making a better living and keeping patients healthier in 23 states and counting. In spite of its rapid growth, the company remains grounded in the belief that there can be no shortcuts to “Wellvana.” But, by caring for patients and supporting providers, everyone can win in value-based care.

With high-minded aspirations, the startup went deep in one market — San Antonio — and, in 2019, established a network consisting of providers that agreed to work collaboratively with Wellvana to deliver value-based care that improves outcomes and lowers the total cost of care. Primary care doctors and specialists in the San Antonio area joined an MSSP Accountable Care Organization, managed in part by Wellvana, and had access to Medicare Advantage contracts, geared to keep seniors healthy while lowering the cost of care. As Wellvana grew, CMS created new opportunities to serve patients in traditional Medicare, such as through its Global and Professional Direct Contracting Model, a predecessor program to the ACO REACH Model. Through the GPDC Model, Wellvana could now take full financial risk on behalf of primary care practices and help them succeed through data insights, coding assistance and high-touch clinical support. As adoption accelerated through COVID-19, Wellvana emerged as a leader in the next generation of value-based enablers. Its high-performing physicians are making a better living and keeping patients healthier in 23 states and counting. In spite of its rapid growth, the company remains grounded in the belief that there can be no shortcuts to “Wellvana.” But, by caring for patients and supporting providers, everyone can win in value-based care.