When Lawrence Kosick’s friend pitched an idea for re-skilling retired educators to teach older adults software and apps, he reflected on his 90-year-old father’s request for a smartwatch. At 53, Kosick himself struggled with his smartwatch's features and did not want to play tech support for his father.

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (August 16, 2021)—Woundtech, a wound management company serving Medicare Advantage health plans and at-risk senior care provider groups, announced that Brian Wise has been named as its chief executive officer. Brian Wise succeeds Founder Jeffrey Galitz, MD who will continue as a member of the board of directors and advise the company on strategic and clinical direction.  

SAN DIEGO (August 16, 2021)—ResMed, a provider of digital health and sleep apnea treatment, launched AirSense 11, available first in the United States, the company’s next-generation PAP (positive airway pressure) device designed to help hundreds of millions of people worldwide with sleep apnea start and stay on therapy to treat and manage obstructive sleep apnea.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (August 16, 2021)—Acuity Medical announced the acquisition of the assets of the Vidatak EZ Board. The organization will integrate all operations into their Annapolis, Maryland facility. 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (August 13, 2021)—National Seating & Mobility (NSM), a provider of comprehensive mobility solutions, has launched a strategic partnership with SYNERGY HomeCare as part of NSM’s Solutions for Accessible & Functional Environments (SAFE) program. The partnership pilot, the first involving any in-home care provider, begins this month in 40 SYNERGY HomeCare locations across five states. The partnership will expand nationally by year end.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 13, 2021)—On a party line vote, the U.S. House of Representatives advanced the annual appropriations for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for fiscal year 2022, approving $119 billion in discretionary spending, an increase of $23 billion over the previous year.

(Discretionary spending does not include Medicare and Medicaid care-related expenses, as that is considered mandatory spending and not subject to the annual appropriations process.)

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (August 12, 2021)—Sorry, Joe Namath. Despite what you keep saying in those TV ads, under Medicare, seniors are not “entitled to eliminate copays and get dental care, dentures, eyeglasses, prescription drug coverage, in-home aides, unlimited transportation and home-delivered meals, all at no additional cost.” But if Democratic lawmakers in Congress have their say, seniors could soon be entitled to some of those services.

NEWARK, N.J. (August 12, 2021)—A federal grand jury in Newark, New Jersey, returned a superseding indictment this week charging a Florida owner of multiple telemedicine companies with orchestrating a health care fraud and illegal kickback scheme that involved the submission of over $784 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare. This is one of the largest Medicare fraud schemes ever charged by the Justice Department.

DALLAS and NASHVILLE, Tenn. (August 12, 2021)—Pharos Capital Group, LLC, a private equity firm based in Dallas and Nashville, Tennessee, announced that its post-acute care provider platform —Charter Health Care Group—has acquired Generations Hospice Care, Inc., in San Antonio, Texas.

ATLANTA and BURLINGAME, Calif., (August 12, 2021)—Sharecare, the digital health company that helps people manage all their health in one place, today announced that it has closed its acquisition of CareLinx, a digital on-demand platform of tech-enabled care providers. Sharecare has acquired CareLinx from Europ Assistance, one of the largest global assistance companies.