News

MINNEAPOLIS – July 1, 2021 – Carrot Health, a leading provider of healthcare solutions powered by consumer and claims data, has received the Fire Award from Minne Inno, which covers the Twin Cities’ burgeoning startup and technology communities. Honored in the high-tech category, Carrot Health was one of 50 companies from across Minnesota to be recognized in the 2021 awards.

“Recognition by Minne Inno with a Fire Award validates Carrot Health’s mission to help shape a future without health disparities in which everyone nationwide is able to lead their healthiest lives,” said Kurt Waltenbaugh, CEO of Carrot Health. “The state’s vibrant high-tech community is made up of some of the nation’s most innovative, leading edge companies, which makes this honor even more meaningful.”

Wellesley, MA — June 29, 2021 –– Hayes, makers of the industry’s leading integrated auditing, billing compliance and revenue integrity platform for the nation’s premier healthcare organizations, announced today that CTO Ritesh Ramesh was recognized by the Globee^® Awards as Chief Technology Officer of the Year in the 16^th Annual 2021 IT World Awards^®. Ramesh, who took top honors in the IT Software category, was recognized for his work leveraging augmented intelligence (AI) to transform both the company and its revenue integrity platform.

Typical attempts at defining, quantifying, and measuring social determinants of health (SDoH) are limited to geographic or population averages, which often mask individuals’ discrete and unique experiences. They can, therefore, lead organizations to implement costly and inefficient programs instead of addressing individuals’ actual barriers that represent the greatest potential for improving health outcomes and return on investment.

Recognizing this, the Colorado Hospital Association (CHA) sought to gain a better understanding of the unique fingerprint of risk within its members’ patient populations—knowledge that would lead to more effective strategies for its members to address emergency department (ED) super-utilization and readmission rates with interventions that would produce the greatest return on investment.

For healthcare organizations to succeed in an era where they are expected to deliver optimal patient results at the lowest cost, they need to abandon traditional low-value care models, which are characterized by patient care that does not lead to better outcomes. This inefficient practice can be detrimental to patients and costs the healthcare industry more than $340 billion per year.

Understanding how this process occurs — and how to eliminate it — is the first step toward implementing a high-value care strategy that works proactively toward lowering costs and improving results. And the best place to start is the lab, where blood and test utilization are responsible for most of the waste and inefficiencies that reside across the healthcare industry.

Minority communities are incredibly diverse, particularly when looking at population mix and rural vs. urban areas. From different household makeups and risk factors to varying engagement preferences, that diversity also impacts health outcomes—a reality laid bare by COVID-19.

An analysis by Carrot Health found that rural communities bear the highest burden of COVID-19, while Black and Hispanic populations are the most adversely impacted by the virus.

MINNEAPOLIS – May 25, 2021 – Carrot Health, a leading provider of healthcare solutions powered by consumer and claims data, announced today that health plans utilizing its Carrot MarketView® platform realized a 2021 Medicare annual election period (AEP) growth rate twice that of their competition. This includes average member retention rates of more than 95% across all health plan customers and new member conversion rates 5.2 times higher when Carrot Health predictive modeling was used.

New Carrot Health customers were particularly successful, with 73% outperforming 2020 AEP. Collectively, new customers grew memberships by nearly 4% during 2021 AEP, following declines in 2020.

The pace of scientific advancement moves faster than ever, and today’s providers, by and large, are open to embracing new best practices and better approaches to medicine. When it comes to optimizing the bottom line, though, many physicians are hesitant to give up traditional manual approaches to revenue cycle management and embrace forward-thinking, data-driven revenue integrity models.

Yet, the stakes are higher than ever for taking a strategic approach to financial health. Today’s practices are facing some of the tightest operational margins in modern history, amid challenges brought on by COVID-19, a continuous decline in reimbursements, and the shift from traditional fee-for-service models to value-based care.

It’s safe to say the U.S. healthcare system’s inherent flaws and dysfunctions have been on full display over the past year. While healthcare stakeholders recognize the need for high-value care, the pandemic has underscored the urgency of investing in models that optimize coordinated, personalized approaches.

Healthcare’s outdated one-size-fits-all, trial-and-error model was performing unacceptably even before the pandemic, wasting up to $935 billion and racking up the highest rate of preventable deaths when compared to peer nations. Notably, research reveals that more than 128,000 people in the U.S. die each year from taking medications as prescribed—four times the number of people killed by prescription painkillers and heroin combined, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It has been more than a year since the start of COVID-19 pandemic. While it will be years before we truly know the effect it will have on our overall health, economy and society, there are a lot of things we do know about the impact on health systems.

Healthcare systems stepped up in a heroic way. They managed to test, treat and cure millions of patients. We went from having no standard test for COVID-19 to being able to test more than 2 million people in a single day. (Data from the Covid Tracking Project).

In today’s quality-driven, outcomes-focused landscape, it is important for healthcare organizations to strike the proper balance between driving better patient outcomes and enhancing efficiencies while still controlling overhead costs. A growing number of forward-thinking organizations are accomplishing this by implementing utilization programs that put operational processes under a microscope and turn lagging, outdated workflows into lean, money-saving activities.

It is a wise target, because unnecessary testing and blood waste put a huge financial strain on health systems. More than $340 billion is spent every year on excessive and inefficient care services, while nearly 50% of all blood transfusions and lab tests run across the continuum of care are unnecessary.

The fundamental problem with healthcare can be summed up in one sentence: We expect healthcare services that cater to our individual needs, yet the health care system operates under a one-size-fits-all, trial-and-error model. It is a model that results in missed diagnoses, protracted illnesses, and even premature death and wastes $935 billion annually.

The financial toll of this outmoded approach pales in comparison to the human toll. More than 128,000 people in the U.S. die each year from taking medications as prescribed—four times the number of people killed by prescription painkillers and heroin combined, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

MINNEAPOLIS – April 12, 2021 – Carrot Health, a leading provider of healthcare solutions powered by consumer and claims data, announced today that CFO Steve Sigmond was named one of Minneapolis-St. Paul’s Notable Leaders in Finance by Twin Cities Business magazine. Sigmond was recognized for the instrumental role he has played in building the company he co-founded in 2014 into the data analytics market leader it is today.

The Notable Leaders in Finance program recognizes finance industry professionals who have affected change, demonstrated a willingness to share expertise, and exhibited leadership in specific initiatives or programs at their organization that created significant, positive, and measurable results. Sigmond and his fellow honorees will be profiled in a special section in the April/May 2021 print issue of Twin Cities Business and online at tcbmag.com.

When it comes to healthcare in the U.S., we expect services that cater to our individual needs from a system that operates under a one-size-fits-all, trial-and-error model — one that results in missed diagnoses, protracted illnesses, and premature death while wasting up to $935 billion annually.

The financial toll of this outmoded approach pales in comparison to the human toll. More than 128,000 people in the U.S. die each year from taking medications as prescribed — four times the number of people killed by prescription painkillers and heroin combined, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

MINNEAPOLIS – April 5, 2021 – Carrot Health, a leading provider of healthcare solutions powered by consumer and claims data, announced today CEO Kurt Waltenbaugh was named one of 2021’s Health Care Heroes by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. Waltenbaugh, who was recognized in the Health Entrepreneur category, was honored for his substantial achievements at the helm of Carrot Health and the impact he and the company have had on the Minneapolis/St. Paul Community.

Recognizing that 2020 was an unprecedented year, the Business Journal launched the Health Care Heroes awards to honor the healthcare workers who have gone above and beyond in their efforts to fight the global COVID-19 pandemic while continuing to provide care for non-COVID patients. The program recognizes Twin Cities’ individuals who have put innovation, care, dedication, and compassion to work to improve the human condition. Honorees were announced on April 5* by the Business Journal and will be recognized during a virtual event on June 10 and in a June 11 special print edition.

2020 was an unprecedented year. Health care workers have gone above and beyond in their efforts to fight a global pandemic while continuing to provide care for non-Covid patients. Meanwhile, researchers, entrepreneurs and manufacturers specializing in the health care sector continue to develop new products and services to improve access and outcomes.

To honor their work, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal has launched our Health Care Heroes awards, recognizing individuals in the Twin Cities for putting innovation, care, dedication and compassion to work to improve the human condition. We received over 115 inspiring and impressive nominations for the inaugural year of this project, making the judging extremely difficult.