This morning care coordination startup Unite Us announced its purchase of fellow digital social determinants of health-focused company NowPow for an undisclosed sum. 

NowPow’s technology centers on population health, and helps give patients referrals to community resources in order to address basic and other needs. 

Similarly, Unite Us’ technology is focused on linking up community-based organizations to health systems, insurers, government groups and nonprofits. It also enables stakeholders to make care plans and provide electrive referrals. 

This news comes roughly a month after Unite Us announced its acquisition of health analytics firm Carrot Health for an undisclosed sum. Following the acquisition Unite Us and NowPow will use Carrot’s data and analytics technology into their platforms in order to help predict population needs and register clients for service, according to the announcement. Carrot’s services can also help to measure the service’s impact. 

WHY IT MATTERS 

Social determinants of health are a hot topic in the medical community today. According to the American Action Forum, 95% of the U.S. healthcare expenditure goes towards medical services. However, the organization goes on to report that recent estimates attribute only 10-20% of health outcomes to medical care. The forum reports that 30% of health outcomes can be attributed to genetics, 40-50% are behavioral and 20% are attributed to social and physical environment. 

The company pitches this merger as a way to help better connect patients to community resources, and address some of those social determinants of health. 

“We are thrilled to embark on a joint vision with the NowPow team and combine NowPow’s high quality, whole person approach and research-validated condition-based algorithms with Unite Us’ proven end-to-end solutions and scale. We’ve worked alongside Stacy and Rachel, NowPow’s leaders, for several years and have admired their model from afar. This was the right time for this combination, which will drive outsized impact for the country,” Dan Brillman, Unite Us CEO, said in a statement. 

THE LARGER TREND 

Unite Us’ recent acquisitions come after the company scored $150 million in a Series C funding round back in March, pushing its valuation to $1.6 billion. 

Population health companies are continuing to grow in the digital health space. Earlier this month, Cityblock Health, a primary care startup that targets the Medicaid and low-income Medicare population, scored a whopping $400 million in funding, bringing the company’s total valuation to $5.7 billion. 

ON THE RECORD 

“NowPow’s roots are on the South Side of Chicago where residents, leaders, caregivers, and scientists have collaborated to ensure everyone seeking support can find the resources they need for independence, wellness, living with illness, and caring for others,” Dr. Stacy Lindau, NowPow’s founder and chief iInnovation officer, said in a statement. “Needs are rising fast and our partnership with Unite Us accelerates our shared vision to ensure everyone, everywhere knows where to go for resources in their community.”