In brief: Conduit Health’s raise, Quipt’s new phase, MiniMed’s debut

NEW YORK – Conduit Health, a consumer-oriented provider of insurance-covered medical supplies and services for Medicare and Medicaid patients, has announced a $17 million Series A to expand its vertically-integrated model that it says brings clinical care, insurance authorization and medical supply fulfillment together under one coordinated structure.

In just 16 months since its public launch, Conduit has delivered supplies to more than 50,000 patients, while increasing its product catalog four times over and widening its payer network to include more than 100 health plans and nearly 90 million covered lives.

"By unifying all of the clinical, administrative, and fulfillment work around an intelligent operating layer, we offer a care model that actually works for patients,” said Natan Wise, co-founder and CEO of Conduit Health. “Until now, the red tape in DME procurement – particularly in Medicare and Medicaid – has profoundly hindered access to these essentials. We built Conduit so the most vulnerable members of our communities can stay healthy and independent at home. The status quo simply doesn't work for them, and as a company that isn't something we are willing to accept."

The round was led by Drive Capital, with participation from prior lead investors XYZ Ventures, Twelve Below, Eniac Ventures, and others, bringing the company’s total funding to $22 million.

Central to Conduit’s model is CareOS (Conduit Authorization and Reimbursement Engine), an agentic AI platform that interprets and acts on complex Medicare, Medicaid and managed care rules in real time. The company says the platform predicts approval likelihood before claims are filed and orchestrates agents that manage documentation and routing across payer environments, enabling Conduit to take on denial risk and standardize workflows at scale. CareOS codifies and automates hundreds of thousands of payer-specific rules across states, products, and managed care plans, informed by more than 50,000 patient cases to date.

“Conduit Health started with durable medical equipment because it’s historically been one of the most challenging and exhausting benefits for patients to access,” said Rocky Seftel, co-founder of Conduit Health. “Our mission is to make it easier for patients to access what they’re already entitled to, and our foundation was designed to ultimately expand into a broader range of insurance-covered services. We are building toward our vision of every eligible American having easy access to covered benefits beyond DME, like transportation to medical appointments, medically-tailored meals, and home modifications.”

Quipt Home Medical enters new phase

Company will be delisted from the NASDAQ and the Toronto Stock Exchange at close of business on March 17

CINCINNATI – Quipt Home Medical has completed its sale to affiliates of Kingswood Capital Management and Forager Capital Management for $3.65 per share, ending a contentious nine months for the home medical equipment (HME) company.

The company will be delisted from the NASDAQ and the Toronto Stock Exchange at close of business on March 17.

“We are pleased to announce the successful conclusion of this transformative transaction, which initiates an exciting new phase for Quipt as a privately held entity,” said Greg Crawford, CEO. “On behalf of our board of directors and management team, I extend our sincere gratitude to our shareholders for their trust, support, and strong endorsement throughout this process. We believe this transaction strategically positions the Company for sustained long-term success. We wish to express our appreciation to all advisors, with particular acknowledgment to our legal advisors at DLA Piper for their exceptional guidance during this transaction.”

Kingswood Capital and Forager Management thanked Crawford, CFO Hardik Mehta and the rest of the team at Quipt Home Medical for the foundation they have built.

“Quipt’s culture, patient-first approach, and commitment to clinical excellence have positioned the Company as a leader in home-based respiratory care,” Kingswood Partner Michael Niegsch and Forager Partner Johnny Wilhelm jointly commented. “As we move forward, our focus will be on supporting the team, investing in the platform, and building upon the Company’s momentum to drive long-term growth.”

The completion of the sale marks a contentious nine months for Quipt Home Medical:

• In May 2025, the company announced that it had received an unsolicited non-binding and conditional and indicative proposal from Forager Capital to acquire 100% of the company’s issued and outstanding shares for $3.10 per common share.
• In August, Forager Capital updated its offer.
• In September, Quipt Home Medical reportedly filed suit against Forager Capital.
• In December, Quipt Home Medical announced it had agreed to be bought out by a special-purpose acquisition vehicle (SPAC) funded by King Capital and Forager Capital.

In December, Quipt Home Medical reported revenue of $68.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2025, an 11% increase year over year. It reported revenue of $254.5 million for fiscal-year 2025, a slight decrease.

MedPAC report recommends increased pay for physicians, increased oversight of Medicare Advantage

WASHINGTON – The Medicare Payment Advisory Committee (MedPAC) recommends updating payments above current law for physicians and other health care professional services. It also recommends eliminating the update for outpatient dialysis services and hospice services; and reducing payments for skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies and inpatient rehabilitation facilities.

In its March 2026 Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, MedPAC also recommends updating payments at current law for acute care hospitals, combined with the Medicare Safety-Net Index (MSNI) described in a previous report.

The state of Medicare Advantage

As part of the report, MedPAC also reports on the state of the Medicare Advantage program,

For 2025, MedPAC shared:

• The program included 5,492 plan options offered by 164 organizations.
• It enrolled about 34.9 million beneficiaries (55% of Medicare beneficiaries with both Part A and Part B coverage).
• It paid these plans about $537 billion (not including Part D drug plan payments).

For 2026, MedPAC shared:

• The average Medicare beneficiary had a choice of 39 plans offered by an average of eight organizations.
• Payments are expected to average $16,242 per beneficiary, including rebate payments of $2,660 per beneficiary per year.

Disconnect between Medicare Advantage, traditional Medicare payments

MedPAC also estimates that Medicare spent about 14% more for MA enrollees than it would spend if those beneficiaries were enrolled in FFS Medicare – a difference that translates into a projected $76 billion in 2026.

That difference varies by MA organization and stems largely from two factors: favorable selection of beneficiaries into MA and coding intensity.

“The commission holds the goal of meaningful and transparent competition in MA to create incentives for plans to improve quality and reduce costs for beneficiaries and taxpayers,” MedPAC stated. “Over the past several years, the commission has made several recommendations to improve the program. These recommendations call for the Congress and CMS to make reforms to address imbalances related to coding intensity, replace the quality bonus program, establish more equitable benchmarks, and improve the completeness of encounter data.”

• Here is a link to the entire report.
• Here is a link to an executive summary.

CGM use increases to one in six Medicare Advantage members, study finds

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – There was a notable increase in the use of continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) among Medicare Advantage members with Type 2 diabetes from 2021-23, according to a new study published in the current issue of the Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy (JMCP) and conducted by a Humana Healthcare Research team and Dr. Joseph S. Ross of the Yale School of Medicine.

The proportion of Medicare Advantage members with Type 2 diabetes who use insulin and CGMs increased from fewer than two in 100 in January 2021 to about one in six by December 2023, researchers found.

"This research is significant because, until now, there has been limited information about the use of continuous glucose monitors among Medicare Advantage members—a population in which diabetes and the management of multiple health conditions are common," said Dr. Mark Mugavin, medical director at Humana. "These insights help us identify which patients may benefit most from CGMs, including those who do not visit the doctor frequently, and guide our strategies for reaching and supporting those who need them most. Ultimately, this work enables us to improve health outcomes by ensuring that more members receive timely and effective diabetes management tools."

The study also compared the demographic and clinical characteristics of members with Type 2 diabetes who used CGMs with those who did not in 2023, finding that the CGM users often had more complex health problems than those who did not.

Additional findings:

• The growth in adoption of CGMs was concurrent with the expansion of Medicare coverage for the devices in 2023.
• In the 2023 study group, patients who had an endocrinology visit during the year were more than four times as likely to use a CGM device.
• The analysis found that patients with fewer interactions with the health care system, as well as those in the oldest age group, were less likely to use CGMs.

As a subsidiary of Humana, Humana Healthcare Research collaborates with leading academic and industry partners to advance and shape innovation in care delivery and health policy for better outcomes.

Access the study here.

Foundation approves $11.4 million in grants to improve senior care

NEW YORK – The board of trustees for the John A. Hartford Foundation has approved six new grants totaling more than $11.4 million to advance age-friendly approaches across health care and public health nationwide. The approved grants are:

• Age-friendly public health systems: Transforming public health aging policy and practice through leadership and systems change, phase IV ($2,741,494 for three years), Trust for America’s Health
• Optimizing 4Ms implementation and evaluation in convenience and primary care ($2,572,862 for three years), Case Western Reserve University
• Scaling and sustaining hospital at home in the US: Payment, caregivers, workforce and data ($2,295,062 for three years), Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
• A national initiative to spread, scale and sustain price-informed share decision-making and health care engagement tools for older adults and family caregivers, phase III ($1,958,670 for three years), FAIR Health
• A conversational artificial intelligence platform for age-friendly care in Medicare Managed Care ($1,358,369 for 18 months), University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
• Core support renewal: Building an aging philanthropy movement ($489,940 for three years), Grantmakers in Aging

FMI on the grants go here. The foundation is a private, nonpartisan, national philanthropy organization dedicated to improving the care of older adults. It has three priority areas: creating age-friendly health systems, supporting family caregivers and improving serious illness and end-of-life care. Since 1982, it has awarded more than $758 million in grants.

Medtronic’s MiniMed joins Nasdaq

GALWAY, Ireland, and NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – MiniMed Group, a subsidiary of Medtronic, has begun trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “MMED” in connection with its initial public offering (IPO). "Today marks an exciting milestone for both MiniMed and Medtronic,” said Geoff Martha, Medtronic chairman and CEO. “Despite a challenging market backdrop shaped by geopolitical uncertainty, the teams successfully executed an oversubscribed offering and the second largest IPO in medtech history. Establishing MiniMed as a standalone entity positions the company to operate with greater agility over the long term. At the same time, this transaction supports Medtronic's strategy to focus capital and resources on long term value creation opportunities that leverage our scale, synergies, and core competencies. We congratulate Que Dallara and our diabetes colleagues whose leadership and dedication made this moment possible." MiniMed previously announced the pricing of its IPO of 28 million shares at $20 per share. About a month before the IPO, Medtronic filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) report to lay off 81 employees in Northbridge, Calif.

California recognizes March as Sleep Apnea Awareness Month

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The California State Assembly has voted to recognize March as Sleep Apnea Awareness Month, formally acknowledging obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as a serious and underdiagnosed public health issue with consequences for individual health, workforce safety and public safety. “Sleep apnea is a silent but widespread condition that affects health and safety across our state, especially in underserved communities,” said Assemblywoman Lisa Calderon, who introduced the resolution on the floor. “History shows that dedicated health awareness months consistently lead more people to recognize symptoms and seek diagnosis, and by recognizing Sleep Apnea Awareness Month, California is taking an important step toward early detection and more equitable access to care.” The resolution was adopted with 61 coauthors and zero objections. Daybreak, which offers a non-CPAP treatment for OSA, partnered with Calderon, alongside community health partner Clinica Monsenor Oscar A. Romera and SALEF, on the resolution. It says resolutions will follow in Massachusetts and Arizona. “We’re going to march across the country in every state and create awareness in a way that has never happened,” said Wesley Lones, founder of Daybreak. “What we’re doing is so much more than helping people sleep better. We’re giving people their life back.”

New Mexico passes first-of-its-kind CRT legislation

SANTE FE, N.M. – The governor of New Mexico has signed a bill into law to mandate coverage consideration for complex rehab technology (CRT) wheelchairs for use every day and for use for physical activities necessary to achieve or maintain the user’s health goals, the National Coalition of Assistive & Rehab Technology (NCART) reports. “NCART greatly appreciated the opportunity to work with the So Every BODY Can Move initiative to secure access to prosthetics, custom orthotics and complex rehab technologies in New Mexico,” the organization stated in an email bulletin. HB 38, the first legislation of its kind NCART says, was passed by the state’s House of Representatives and Senate and was signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on March 6. The law also puts in place necessary protections for users by mandating the use of accredited providers and licensed/certified medical professionals prior to the prescription of a CRT manual or power wheelchair.

Medline makes new investment in network of distribution centers

NORTHFIELD, Ill. – Medline plans to expand its national network of 45 distribution centers across the U.S. by constructing a new 1.2 million-square-foot distribution center in Midlothian, Texas. The distribution center is expected to be fully operational in the second quarter of 2027 and is the first new distribution center announced by Medline after its initial public offering (IPO) in December of last year. “Today we have more than 26 million square feet of warehouse space in the U.S., and we are continuing to invest in our network as our customers’ needs grow,” said Sean Halligan, executive vice president of operations for Medline. “Our vast network of distribution centers, 80 days of on-hand inventory, advanced technologies and owned fleet of trucks demonstrate our relentless focus on our customers and our drive to meet their evolving and growing needs.” This second distribution center in the Dallas-Fort Worth market complements the Wilmer location as Medline’s customer base continues to expand in the region. The Midlothian center is expected to include the advanced technologies used at Medline’s other large distribution centers, including the AutoStore storage and retrieval system. It will serve health care providers across the continuum of care in the area, including hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, physician offices, nursing homes and hospices. “Our network of distribution centers strategically located across the country enables us to provide next-day delivery to 95% of our customers in the U.S.,” Halligan said. “We were thrilled many of our local customers, elected officials and community stakeholders in Midlothian joined us in celebrating this exciting groundbreaking.”

• Related: Medline provides value, stability amid health care ‘crisis,’ CEO says.