Cambia Health Solutions is keeping mum about how much was spent to launch its latest subsidiary which has been closed down, Engima Health, which was intended to help physicians diagnose mysterious symptoms such as headaches and originally called Muse.
The goal had been to link patients and their providers to evidence-based behavioral solutions to help patients regain control over their health, and enable payers and ACOs to reduce unexplained and unproductive utilization of medical services When it started in September 2013, Zhenya Abbruzzese, founder and CEO, didn’t hesitate to tell colleagues this new venture had received several rounds of funding, on her Linked In profile.
And, she encouraged “talented individuals to help with further product development as well as business development.”
Once Engima began, Abbruzzese reported an average 40 percent improvement in such areas as quality of life and health-related anxiety, according to an article appearing on the Cambia website last January.
It’s unknown whether Abbruzzese is still employed at Cambia. She joined The Regence Group in September 2005 as a senior healthcare informatics manager, leading data analysis projects, redesigned medical management programs' business processes, coordinated and carried out complex analyses for medical management. .
When asked for a comment about why Cambia had shut down this company, Jared Ishkanian, strategic communications for Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon, told The Lund Report,
“Cambia launches and funds early stage companies because of their potential to transform the healthcare experience. Like so many startups, not every company finds their niche in the market. We are confident in our approach, and are leveraging the technology platform and learnings from this investment to improve care outcomes, access and affordability for consumers.“
With barely a whimper, Cambia sounded the death knoll in January on one of its latest innovation to transform the healthcare marketplace – Wellero, which was intended to make to easier for patients to pay their medical bills before leaving a doctor’s office – had survived less than two years.
A subsidiary of Portland-based regional insurance giant Cambia, Regence BlueCross BlueShield reported an alarming cash situation as of March 31 – though its deep pocketed parent company may be well-positioned to bolster any financial problems that result.
Regence BCBS was the only insurer to report a negative cash balance as of March 31. Its cash and equivalents were negative $11.96 million, worse than the negative $9.8 million Regence ended 2015 with, and far below the $28.8 million positive balance it reported for this line item as of March 31, 2015. Enrollment also fell during the period.
Diane can be reached at [email protected].
