Walgreens announced Oct. 14 that it made a $330 million investment to acquire a majority stake in home health management company CareCentrix, the third majority investment in a healthcare company Walgreens has made in the past month.
Walgreens said the investment was part of its launch of Walgreens Health, its new consumer-centric healthcare strategy to boost its capabilities in primary care, post-acute care and home care. The investment gives it a 55 percent stake in the company as well as the option to acquire the remainder in the future.
"CareCentrix's suite of home care solutions will advance our capabilities in this important segment for healthcare delivery, to help address the needs of people living with complex or chronic conditions in the home," Roz Brewer, CEO of Walgreens, said in a news release.
CareCentrix manages care for 19 million people at 7,400 provider locations. It will continue to operate as an independent company under its current executive leadership.
"COVID-19 has made it clear that providing care in the home and community is the future of not only post-acute care, but healthcare more broadly. Indeed, the home is the last undeveloped frontier in American healthcare and critical to reversing spiraling costs and middling health outcomes,” John Driscoll, CEO of CareCentrix, said in the news release. "Together, Walgreens and CareCentrix will be able to partner with a wide range of payers to help care for patients from the hospital to the home in a more personalized, engaged, and effective way."
Also on Oct. 14, Walgreens announced a $5.2 billion investment in VillageMD, giving it a 63 percent stake in the company. Walgreens plans to open at least 600 primary care clinics with VillageMD by 2025.
Walgreens said Sept. 21 that it will make a $970 million majority investment in Shields Health Solutions, a specialty pharmacy services provider for hospitals and health systems. The investment gives Walgreens about 71 percent ownership of Shields with the option to acquire the rest in the future.
Walgreens is also reportedly considering acquiring Evolent Health, a company that provides partnerships between healthcare providers and health plans and helps providers transition to a value-based care model. Sources close to the matter told Bloomberg that Walgreens is in talks to acquire Evolent Health, though no formal deal has been announced.