In brief: Henry Schein makes CGM play, diabetes tech integrates, Medicare overpays & more 

MELVILLE, N.Y. - Henry Schein has signed an agreement to buy Tampa, Fla.-based Acentus, a national supplier specializing in delivering continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) with $35 million in annual revenue. 

Along with its previous acquisitions of Prism Medical Products in 2021 and Shield Healthcare and Mini Pharmacy in 2023, Henry Schein now expects its home medical supply platform to have annual revenue of about $35 million. 

“As the delivery of health care in the U.S. is increasingly provided in home-based settings, Henry Schein is strategically expanding our offerings to meet the growing demand,” said Stanley M. Bergman, chairman of the board and CEO, Henry Schein. “With Acentus, we will strengthen our position nationally in the home medical supply market and better serve our valued customers, including clinics, physician practices, health systems, ambulatory surgery centers, and most importantly, patients and families.” 

Provident Healthcare Partners acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Acentus. 

Upon closing, Acentus founders Brett Carroll, Todd Cianfrocca, Greg Duvall and Julio Valdivia will join Henry Schein and bring their expertise and experience in the product category and the health care industry. 

“We are delighted to partner with Henry Schein and further our efforts to provide accessible disposable medical supplies to the thousands of individuals nationwide who rely on these products to manage their chronic conditions,” said Cianfrocca, CEO of Acentus. “We are excited to contribute to the growth of Henry Schein’s emerging home health care business.” 

With approximately 26,000 team members worldwide, Henry Schein’s network of trusted advisors provides more than 1 million customers globally with more than 300 valued solutions that help improve operational success and clinical outcomes.   

Analysis: 

• Henry Schein’s acquisition of Acentus is only the most recent example of accelerated M&A activity in the diabetes and CGM market. Cardinal Health also announced in November that it was buying Advanced Diabetes Supply Group for $1.1 billion. 
• Additionally, other companies, like AdaptHealth, are trying to ramp up their businesses in the market. 

OIG: Medicare overpaid hospital for hospice patients 

WASHINGTON – Medicare improperly paid acute-care hospitals an estimated $190 million over five years for outpatient services provided to hospice patients, according to a new report from the Office of Inspector General. 

For 30 of 100 sample items, payments to acute-care hospitals for outpatient services provided to hospice enrollees complied with Medicare requirements. For the remaining 70 items, however, payments did not comply with the requirements. 

Specifically, the OIG found that Medicare paid acute-care hospitals for outpatient services that palliated or managed the terminal illnesses and related conditions of hospice enrollees. These services were already covered as part of the hospice per diem payments and should have been provided directly by the hospices or under arrangements between the hospices and acute-care hospitals.  

The OIG says Medicare improperly paid the acute-care hospitals because, among other causes: (1) the prepayment edit process was not properly designed; (2) most acute-care hospitals reviewed only whether outpatient services palliated or managed terminal illnesses, not related conditions; (3) Medicare guidance lacks details; and (4) Medicare contractors did not conduct prepayment or postpayment reviews. 

The OIG recommended that CMS: (1) improve system edit processes to help reduce improper payments for outpatient services provided by acute-care hospitals to hospice enrollees; (2) educate acute-care hospitals to analyze whether outpatient services palliated or managed conditions related to enrollees’ terminal illnesses; and (3) clarify Medicare guidance to specifically mention “related conditions.”  

CMS concurred with all but the first recommendation, stating that it has concerns about the feasibility and effectiveness of the type of modifications to the system edits described in the report. After reviewing CMS’s comments, the OIG refined its first recommendation: Improving CMS’s system edit processes could help reduce improper payments going forward. 

Dexcom partners with, invests in, Ōura 

SAN DIEGO & SAN FRANCISCO – Dexcom’s glucose data with be integrated with the Oura Ring’s vital sign, sleep, stress, heart health and activity data to provide users of both products with a more complete picture of overall health, the companies say. Dexcom is also making a $75 million strategic investment in Ōura’s Series D funding, putting the company’s valuation at more than $5 billion. “Dexcom offers the most accurate glucose biosensing systems on the market that help reveal the impact of daily lifestyle choices on glucose levels and enable our users to make informed decisions about their health and overall well-being,” said Matt Dolan, executive vice president of strategy and corporate development at Dexcom. “Partnering with Ōura gives us the opportunity to redefine the category again, integrating data from Dexcom glucose biosensors with the continuous insights and metrics measured by Oura Ring. This powerful combination will attract new shared customers who want to better understand the link between activity, sleep, nutrition and their glucose.” Dexcom and Ōura will launch integrations enabling data to flow between Dexcom and Ōura products, including Dexcom glucose biosensors, Dexcom apps, Ōura Ring and the Ōura App, so shared users can track their glucose levels and understand the impact of behaviors and biology on their metabolic health. The companies will also co-market and cross-sell each other’s products. “Ninety-seven percent of members have expressed interest in understanding how the food they eat impacts their health,” said Tom Hale, Ōura CEO. “This partnership with Dexcom will enable us to empower our members to make informed decisions and adjust behaviors to positively impact their biometrics and long-term health. Working together, Ōura and Dexcom will help members decide what and when to eat by surfacing correlations between activities like sleep and exercise and members’ glucose levels.” The first app integration resulting from the partnership is expected to be launched in the first half of 2025. 

• Related: A few months ago, Veri, which makes a continuous glucose monitor, announced that it has joined ŌURA, which makes the Oura Ring. 

Insulet’s Omnipod integrates with Libre 

ACTON, Mass. – Insulet’s Omnipod 5 Automated Insulin Delivery System is now compatible with Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre 2 Plus continuous glucose monitoring sensor in the U.S. “We are excited to announce that Omnipod 5, the only AID system indicated for both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, is now integrated with Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre 2 Plus sensor in the U.S.,” said Eric Benjamin, Insulet’s executive vice president and chief product and customer experience officer. “This latest innovation will allow millions of Americans who take insulin the ability to get started on Pod therapy using their preferred CGM sensor. As we work to reach more people with our innovative, tubeless Omnipod 5 AID System, today’s announcement represents yet another significant step forward for our company and our customers.” Insulet says the Omnipod 5 System simplifies diabetes management and has shown to improve results by eliminating the need for multiple daily injections therapy and automatically adjusting insulin delivery every five minutes using SmartAdjust technology. 

Medtronic’s InPen app gets FDA clearance 

GALWAY, Ireland - Medtronic has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its new InPen app featuring missed meal dose detection, paving the way for the launch of its Smart MDI system with the Simplera continuous glucose monitor. With this clearance, the system will be the first in the market to recommend corrections for missed or inaccurate insulin doses, providing real-time, personalized insights for individuals on multiple daily injection therapy, the company says.  "I'm thrilled about the launch of the Medtronic Smart MDI system with the InPen app and Simplera CGM,” said Diana Isaacs, PharmD, BCPS, BCACP, BC-ADM, CDCES, FADCES, FCCP. "This is a significant leap forward for those on multiple daily injections, offering intelligent dosing insights and simplifying diabetes management. By reducing the guesswork out of insulin dosing, this tool helps maintain stable blood sugars, optimize long-term health, and reduce complications from hyperglycemia." Medtronic will initiate a limited market release beginning with existing standalone CGM and InPen customers followed by a broad commercial launch.    

ACHC launches new accreditation program for hospital at home 

CARY, N.C. – The Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC) is introducing a new accreditation program, In-Home Hospital Care Accreditation, to set industry standards for safety, quality and patient-centered care in the rapidly evolving field of home-based acute health care. As health care organizations adopt new models that respond to patient preference, improve patient access and create efficiencies on the delivery of services, ACHC’s new program establishes clear guidelines and best practices for providers delivering hospital-level care at home. “We’re seeing a significant movement toward providing higher acuity care for chronic and episodic conditions in the home,” said Patrick Horine, vice president, acute care, at ACHC. “In-Home Hospital Care Accreditation reflects the broader ‘hospital-at-home’ trend, which emphasizes patient-centered care outside traditional inpatient settings. Our accreditation aims to improve patient outcomes by ensuring safety, quality, consistency and high standards of care across this evolving care delivery model.” The transition to home-based acute care, which accelerated with the COVID-19 pandemic, presents opportunities to improve patient outcomes, reduce health care costs and enhance patient satisfaction, ACHC says, and its new accreditation program aims to support health care organizations in delivering high-quality, patient-centered care that promotes collaboration within the evolving health care system.