Strive Partners With Large Nephrology Practice on Kidney Care Payment Models
Nephrology Associates of Northern Illinois and Northern Indiana (NANI), the nation’s largest independent nephrology group, has partnered with Denver-based Strive Health to jointly pursue and manage global risk payment models.
The organizations said the partnership would benefit people with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) through a “whole patient” approach that enhances lives and communities across Illinois, Indiana, and potentially other states.
NANI employs 141 physicians in four states and has added 28 providers in the past year, making it the nation’s largest independent nephrology group and one of the fastest growing. NANI said it has had success in the Medicare ESCO program and other innovative payment models.
As part of this relationship, NANI has made an equity investment in Strive, joining New Enterprise Associates, Alphabet's CapitalG, and other venture capital investors, building on Strive’s $140 million Series B funding round announced in March 2021.
Under their partnership, Strive and NANI will share in the financial risk, management, and governance of risk contracts with government and commercial payers. The scope will initially include Medicare, Medicare Advantage, and commercial members in Illinois and Indiana, which represent a high-acuity patient population and upwards of $400 million in annual medical spend.
“Kidney disease is a large-scale health problem that nephrologists are best equipped to manage, and we recognize that the future of nephrology is value-based,” said Brian O’Dea, CEO of NANI, in a statement. “The opportunity to participate in risk contracts offers massive potential for NANI to improve patient care, enhance the physician experience, and grow the value of our practice to our patients. Strive brings a shared commitment and a proven track record in value-based kidney care, and we are excited to build a long-standing strategic partnership with them as we continue to grow.”
Strive is embedding complete-care resources within NANI practices, including preventative care, specialized clinical programs, data integration and analytics, and management of risk contracts. NANI is also leading innovative practice transformation initiatives to improve whole-patient care. Together, the companies will launch integrated workflows to enhance the patient experience, manage care, and improve outcomes.
“A powerful movement is taking place in nephrology, and payors are increasingly looking to nephrologists to elevate the patient experience and take on global risk,” said Chris Riopelle, CEO and co-founder of Strive Health, in a statement. “Strive Health empowers independent nephrologists to make the leap to risk-based contracts through advanced technology and complete-care resources. NANI is the leading nephrology group in the country and one of the most sophisticated groups in integrated care delivery, and we could not be prouder to partner with them.”
To accelerate NANI’s value-based approach, they spent nearly six months evaluating potential partners, according to Manish Tanna, M.D., who is the physician leader of NANI’s value-based care committee. “Strive Health is unique in that they bring kidney expertise along with leading technology and innovative clinical resources that are designed for nephrologists,” he said in a statement. “We believe that Strive is the most patient-focused company in this space and its model will help us elevate the way we practice medicine and succeed in innovative payment programs.”
