Under Armour is undoing most of its landmark 2015 fitness app acquisition spree, HHS unveils a new five-year plan, and some non-election news about Georgia. I’m Jonah Comstock, filling in for Jeff Lagasse, and all that is coming up in today’s Top Stories.
Apparel brand Under Armour is selling off health app MyFitnessPal for $345 million after purchasing it for $475 million five years ago (https://www.mobihealthnews.com/news/under-armour-sells-myfitnesspal-345m-will-shut-down-endomondo-2021). As MobiHealthNews reports, investment firm Francisco Partners is the buyer. The company will also shut down Endomondo, a similar app purchased around the same time, next year. But the company isn’t getting out of the fitness app game entirely; it will continue to invest in MapMyFitness, its first acquisition in the space, which cost the company just $150 million back in 2013.
Over at Healthcare IT News, we see that the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT at the Department of Health and Human Services has released its final Federal Health IT Strategic Plan for 2020 through 2025 (https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/hhs-unveils-new-2020-2025-federal-health-it-strategic-plan). The plan, created with input from dozens of federal agencies and open comments from industry stakeholders, is mandated by the 2009 HITECH Act. This version prioritizes person-centered care, value-based care and secure access to health information, as well as encouraging innovation and competition and emphasizing transparency in the development of health IT policy.
The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services this week approved a controversial waiver request from the state of Georgia, which has asked to be exempt from public Affordable Care Act exchanges in favor of a private sector platform called the Georgia Access Model in 2023, Healthcare Finance New reports. (https://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/cms-approves-georgia-waiver-transition-non-aca-private-sector-marketplace) While CMS says the program will reduce premiums by 10% on average, Democratic opponents say the waiver will undermine the ACA and encourage the creation of junk plans. The move comes at a moment when the ACA itself is in peril because of a Supreme Court hearing due to be held next week.
I’m Jonah Comstock with HIMSS Media, and this has been Top Stories.