Great Call
Vendor Review for Medicaid Vendor Partner Readiness
- Overall Assessment
- Basic Info
- Relevant Leadership Experience
- Brand Perception
- Clarity of Value Proposition
- Scalability
- Funding Model
Overall Assessment
Summary
- Well known connected health company with new efforts in space driven by BestBuy acquisition
- Best Buy acquisition signals move into home healthcare services / connected health.
- Bought for 4x annual revenues. Look for initial footprint in duals plans, followed by an expansion in MLTSS markets in the next 2 years.
Scoring
Composite
Leadership Medicaid Experience
Scalability
Brand Perception
Category
Tech>Mobile health
What they do
Medical devices for general consumer / older adult segment.
Health and safety products for older adults. Operates mobile virtual network through Verizon.
Known for Jitterbug device and MedCoach (daily medication management)
Self-stated value proposition
GreatCall develops medical alert wearable devices that offer automated check-in calls, fall detection and fitness tracking solutions for senior citizens.
At GreatCall, we believe in creating innovative technology that helps seniors live independently and enjoy a better quality of life. Today, our remote monitoring platform is the industry’s only proven solution designed specifically for seniors and the people who care for them. Trusted by over 900,000 aging adults in the consumer market, our turnkey solution allows MCOs to achieve the triple aim of better health outcomes, lower costs, and better experiences.
Our Lively Home Solution helps senior members with chronic conditions live at home more safely. Our in-home sensors and predictive analytics capabilities detect changes in daily activities that could indicate potential health issues. Alerted to these changes, case managers can intervene early to prevent avoidable high-cost care, such as ER visits and hospitalizations.
Our Lively Mobile device increases senior members’ independence and satisfaction while reducing PMPM costs. Our mobile personal emergency response system (PERS) allows seniors to get the help they need in unsafe or uncertain situations. Lively Mobile also improves response times in an emergency, promoting better health outcomes.
Founded
2005
Annual Revenues
Estimated @ $300M
# employees
Estimated @ 1,000
Points Possible: 212
Points Earned: 113.5
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Role | | |
|---|---|---|
CEO |  David Inns | Click for Bio (self-reported)David Inns is CEO and a member of the Board of Directors of GreatCall Inc. Under David’s leadership, GreatCall has grown from a small startup to a company with hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue and over 1,000 employees. David is an executive board member of the Consumer Technology Association and was named the 2016 EY Entrepreneur of the Year in the Services category. Before joining GreatCall, David was vice president of both consumer markets and consumer marketing for Bell Mobility in Canada, where he ran the $1.6 billion consumer market P&L and the $4 billion wireline P&L. He was a partner at Diamond Management & Technology Consultants, which was bought by PwC in 2010 for $378 million. |
Operations Executive |  Lynn Herrick | Click for Bio (self-reported) Lynn Kantor Herrick, Esq., is the Chief Operating Officer for GreatCall, Inc., a Best Buy subsidiary, and the leading provider of easy-to-use technology services for active aging. In this role, Ms. Herrick has responsibility for GreatCall’s caring centers and the 1,000 employees that staff them, as well as overseeing human resources, logistics, facilities and legal for the company. Lynn joined GreatCall in 2009 as General Counsel and was quickly promoted into key leadership and operational roles as the company grew. Ms. Herrick added Chief Human Resources Officer to her responsibilities in 2012, taking on oversight of GreatCall’s human resources department and caring centers. Ms. Herrick’s diverse experience, keen eye and ability to recognize and develop talent, commitment to meaningful work and ability to balance human and business dynamics have been essential to GreatCall’s transformation from startup to $800 million acquisition of Best Buy in 2018. Through more than 20 years of leadership at innovative, privately held companies and large private law firms, she conveys a unique blend of legal and operational experience that includes a deep understanding of employment law, mergers and acquisitions, business operations, executive leadership, and corporate culture and life cycle. She graduated from Indiana University School of Law, magna cum laude, and the University of Michigan, with honors. |
Sales Executive |  Bryan Fuhr | Click for Bio (self-reported)Bryan Fuhr is vice president of connected health at GreatCall, Inc. Bryan joined the company in September of 2017 and leads the commercial business development team. His team’s goal is to identify target accounts and partners in the healthcare space with businesses and end-user clients that benefit from the achievement of Triple Aim outcomes (better health outcomes, lower costs, better experiences). His team works with target accounts to develop mutually beneficial business models and agreements to reach these ends. Before joining GreatCall, Bryan was a founder of Healthsense, serving in various sales, marketing, product management, and business development roles. Bryan holds a BS in electrical engineering from the University of Minnesota and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business. |
Sales Executive |  Dean Williams | Click for Bio (self-reported)Dean Williams is the SVP, Network Technology of GreatCall, Inc, the leader in empowering aging consumers and their family caregivers to stay connected, protected and in control of their lives. Dean joined the company in 2005 to launch the Jitterbug business. Since that time, he has led technology teams in developing Jitterbug, 5Star and a suite of health, safety and medical apps, including Urgent Care, GreatCall Link, MedCoach and 5Star. Prior to joining GreatCall, he worked in software development and product management for a number of early stage and established technology companies. Dean holds a Bachelors degree in Applied Mathematics from the University of California, San Diego. |
Product/Solution Executive (or similar) |  Scott Brenton | Click for Bio (self-reported)Accomplished tech executive with demonstrated ability to build and lead engineering teams in a fast-pacedenvironment. Thought leader with interest and deep expertise in the Internet of Things, Machine Learning, anddistributed architecture. Combining strong business acumen with technical strategy to drive corporate valuation. |
Points possible: 95
Points earned: 70
Analyst Notes
- Recalls of some devices June 2019
- Healthy culture based on Glassdoor reviews
- Exist Medicaid footprint with duals clients
- Known throughout consumer space
Points possible: 60
Points earned: 40
Analyst Notes
- Measuring impact on acute admissions, ED costs and LTC costs
Points possible: 50
Points earned: 31
Analyst Notes
- High annual revenues, existing health plan client base
- 75% of directors and managers have 10 years+ experience
- 75% of engineering, IT and ops have 10 years+ experience
- Slight to strong increase in hires and open reqs in non-sales roles past 2 years
Analyst Notes
Ownership model
Owned by BestBuy as of August 2018. Previously owned by PE firm GTCR (with purchase in 2017)
