Health Startups, Investors Offer 4 Bold Predictions for 2023

There’s never a shortage of predictions about health care annually, but a recent Health Tech 2023 forecast based on a survey of 90 digital health startups and investors offered some interesting findings. Here are four that caught our eye:

1 | Company likely to deliver the most notable merger or acquisition of 2023: CVS Health (29%)

Optum (10%) and Amazon (8%) placed second and third, respectively. Respondents speculated that CVS’ top acquisition targets could include Privia Health, Oak Street Health and others while Amazon could have its eye on population health startup Color and retail giant Walgreens. Optum’s targets could include price transparency platform Turquoise Health and mental health provider Headspace Health.

2 | Large retail care provider most likely to acquire an insurance arm: Amazon (32%)

After Amazon’s acquisition of primary care provider One Medical, many analysts thought buying a health insurance company might be on the company’s radar. This also could add competition for players like UnitedHealth Group and CVS Health, which owns Aetna.

3 | Biggest threat to health systems’ core business by year end: Amazon (52%)

This prediction is particularly interesting given that Amazon officials noted at the HLTH conference last fall that the company views itself as a partner, not a competitor to the broader health care ecosystem.

4 | Company with which health systems are most likely to partner in 2023: Teladoc (48%)

As health care organizations continue to modify their virtual care programs now that the worst of the pandemic appears to be over, this prediction could bear watching. Walgreens (46%) and CVS (42%) were the second and third most often named companies.