Ilant Health – a company purpose-built to partner with employers and government payors to improve obesity treatment through holistic, integrated, and value-based care – recently launched out of stealth today with $3 million in funding. The round was led by Elina Onitskansky, previously an executive at Molina Healthcare, Help at Home, and McKinsey and someone with direct obesity lived experience. The Ilant team recognizes the power of appropriate obesity treatment to change individual lives and improve broader population health.
Launched with a strong belief that obesity care will only transform healthcare if it is part of the healthcare system, Ilant is supported by innovators from across the healthcare industry, including: Nick Loporcaro, President & CEO of Global Medical Response, former CEO of Landmark Health and President of US Pharma & Specialty Health with McKesson; Brandon Kerns, CFO of CareBridge, Russell Street Ventures, and Main Street Health; Matt Klitus, CFO of Lyra Health and former CFO and CSO of MassHealth; Iyah Romm, Founding CEO of Cityblock Health; Dr. Sylvia Romm, Founder of Sounder Health and former VP of Clinical Transformation at American Well; David Werry, Co-founder & President at Well, former Head of Transformation at Aetna, and Head of Biotech at PPD.
Working as the single front door across obesity treatment modalities, Ilant supports employers and health plans in managing the cost, quality, and experience of obesity treatment and supports members through holistic, individualized, evidence-based, and integrated care – replacing what today is often a fragmented, expensive, and broad-brush approach to obesity treatment.
Ilant addresses the need for comprehensive, individualized, evidence-based, and value-based care. And the company combines the power of analytics, clinical expertise, and lived experience – recognizing the importance of both supporting affordable and financially viable treatment at scale and recognizing the diversity of obesity-related needs. Ilant focuses on a three-step approach:
— Identifying those who would most likely see clinical and financial value from treatment through the Ilant Rapid Returns, a proprietary claims analytics engine that both addresses the historic under-coding of obesity and poor understanding of treatment impact
—Matching individuals to the treatment most likely to drive outcomes and value through the proprietary Ilant Metabolism Matters, a rigorous, evidence-based algorithm that accounts for medical, behavioral, and social determinants of health considerations – and provides treatment guidance across the full obesity treatment spectrum, including intensive behavioral therapy, pharmacotherapy (including all potential medications, not just GLP-1s), and bariatric surgery
—An integrated treatment approach that provides ongoing, synchronous access to clinical experts, including obesity medicine physicians, mental health practitioners, and nutritionists, together with peer navigators and obesity-specific member tools to support whole-person care and long-term adherence and results
By working with employers and health plans, the value-based care company is supporting affordability and access, delivering comprehensive obesity care for those who need it most while reducing cost of care for patients, employers, and payers. It aims to do nothing less than create a system change in health and healthcare costs in America by changing how obesity is viewed and addressed. And at launch, the company’s enterprise-level capabilities include a 50-state medical practice, W2 clinical staff, specialty board-certified MDs, HITRUST and SOC2 compliance, utilization and adherence management, and risk-based pricing.
Ilant Health assembled a clinical advisory board that includes Dr. Robin Blackstone, MD, a leader in enhancing bariatric quality programs; Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, renowned obesity medicine expert; Dr. Barbara Troupin, an obesity medicine researcher, and industry experts, including Keith Passwater, Former Chief Actuary of Anthem.
KEY QUOTE:
“Obesity is incredibly complex – it’s a medical problem, a health equity problem, a bias problem, and a cost problem. We’re seeing unprecedented increases in conditions and costs associated with obesity – whether that’s cardiometabolic diseases, musculoskeletal issues, or obesity-related cancers – and surging demand for high-cost obesity treatments. We’re seeing increasing discussions of obesity – even as the biases and the stigma associated with obesity remain incredibly high. We need to get away from simple answers to the obesity epidemic and recognize that the solution needs to be as nuanced and multifaceted as the problem we’re facing.”
— Elina Onitskansky
