CareConnectMD Inc. — a Costa Mesa, California-based and physician-led medical group — has raised a $25 million financing round led by the Minneapolis-based TT Capital Partners.

The funds will go towards expanding CareConnectMD’s footprint in California, Ohio and Texas, as well as other markets. The $25 million has also been earmarked for investment into the company’s technology platform as well.

“The funds will help build our infrastructure to replicate our clinical model in the various markets that we’re in,” Kim Phan, founder and CEO of CareConnectMD, told Home Health Care News. “It will also build our technology infrastructure, analytics infrastructure, as well as our business, marketing and growth development process.”

CareConnectMD serves the high needs of medically complex, fragile seniors. Many of the company’s patients are residing in nursing homes, and others are home-based care patients.

As a veteran of the post-acute care space, Phan has always believed that there was a better way to take care of fragile populations. CareConnectMD has set its sights on improving the care that these individuals have access to.

“What we strive to do is create a model of care that can bring more primary care for our patients in the program, so that we can treat them in place,” Phan said. “We really take great care in coordinating the care of the patient, so that they don’t have to be transferred to the hospital unnecessarily or the ER.”

In order to accomplish this, CareConnectMD has created a mobile model of care that meets the patient wherever they’re at, whether that’s a long-term care facility or their own home.

In terms of reimbursement, CareConnectMD operates under the High Needs Population Direct Contracting Entity (DCE) model, which was introduced in 2021 by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI).

“It’s a better iteration of an ACO basically,” Phan said. “In this program, CMMI will contract with direct-contracting entities that will, in turn, coordinate a network of providers to deliver care to a specific population of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries.”

Under this model, CareConnectMD is responsible for the total cost of care for Medicare. As a result, the company is always looking to be innovative in how it cares for its patient population, according to Phan.

Of all of the DCE programs, there are only eight high-needs ones.

“We’re a very small subset,” Phan said. “One thing that is unique is CMS has recognized that this special population often does not get the care they need. They’re looking for more innovative models of care that can bring more services to these fragile and medically complex populations.”

CareConnectMD has also formed relationships with home-based care organizations.

“We have a preferred home health agency that we work with,” Phan said. “We have groups of physicians and nurse practitioners that have home-based patients. We have about 300+ patients in the home setting that we take care of in the Inland Empire area. Due to COVID, more and more patients will be shifting into the home. Our model of care is basically just shifting from skilled-nursing facilities into the home setting. That’s what we’ve been working on scaling.”