Amwell to Go Public, Shift Its Telehealth Platform Over to Google

One of the nation’s largest telehealth providers is shifting its platform to Google and going public, in hopes of solidifying and expanding services that have seen a surge in use during the coronavirus pandemic.

Amwell, formerly known as American Well, announced this week that it has filed for an IPO (initial public offering of common stock), at the same time that Google has announced a $100 million investment in the company. The Massachusetts-based company will name Google as its preferred global cloud partner and move its video services to that platform.

"We chose Google Cloud as our strategic partner because of their phenomenal people, superior products, and open approach to partnering," Ido Schoenberg, MD, Amwell’s chairman and CEO, said in a press release. "Together, we will be able to offer an incredible array of integrated capabilities and help millions of people around the world access better care. Our collaborative work could literally democratize healthcare."

The announcement comes just a few weeks after Amwell’s largest competitor, Teladoc Health, announced a merger with connected health company Livongo. That deal, valued at $18.5 billion, aimed to create a multi-faceted “consumer centered virtual care” company that would better address the challenges of shifting care out of the hospital and into the home.

Amwell had reportedly seen upwards of a 1,000 percent increase in business during the height of the COIVD-19 crisis, with a corresponding increase in revenues of about 80 percent. This comes as many health systems, hospitals, clinics and medical practices have tried out telehealth for the first time or expanded existing platforms to better separate infected patients from care providers and meet a surge in demand for healthcare delivered to the home.

Both the Amwell and Teladoc Health announcements come at the time when the healthcare industry is poised to build upon the telehealth momentum created by COVID-19.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has proposed to include new telehealth coverage in its 2021 Physician Fee Schedule, adopting some emergency measures created during the pandemic and proposing new codes and coverage. At the same time, President Donald Trump has issued an Executive Order aimed at compelling providers and payers to expand and cover more telehealth services, particularly in rural areas.

This sets the stage for Congress, which is facing pressure from telehealth advocates and many of its own members to pass legislation that would permanently extend those telehealth freedoms.