The Truth is Powerful
In this article, Emily Evans, healthcare policy analyst at Hedgeye, considers the potential effects of politics, policy and power on the burgeoning healthcare special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) universe.
Politics
Something is sure to go wrong.
Over 400 SPACs have formed and about 100 business combinations have been announced. At least as far as health care goes, excluding biotech and pharma, the quality of the business combinations has thus far been uninspiring.
Deerfield’s [DFHT] CareMax/IMC Medical merger and Jaws Acquisition’s [JWS] Cano Health are focused on the very crowded medicare advantage market just as demographic realities require attention to shift toward younger people.
Falcon’s [FCAC] ShareCare, GigCapital2’s [GIX] Uphealth/Cloudbreak, and Hudson’s [HECCU] Talkspace are yet more digital platforms to manage care. Virgin Group’s 23andMe wants to monetise all the genetic data it has collected through drug development.As absent durable business models that address the core challenges of health care such as price, efficiency and quality, SPACs seem to be relying on charismatic personalities to win over investors, great and small, regardless of their experience or credibility.So much so that Twitter entreaties from Chamath Palihapitiya’s fan-base have taken on the tone of religious followers. “@chamath give @Clover_Health some love on Valentine’s […]