Whoop Accepted Into Medicare ACCESS Program for Seniors — SkimNews
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- Whoop was accepted into Medicare's ACCESS program this year, becoming one of the first consumer wearable companies to offer its device at no cost to traditional Medicare patients 65 and up with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, or prediabetes.
- Ami Bhatt, Whoop's newly appointed chief medical officer and former chair of the FDA's digital health advisory committee, told the STAT Summit that simplifying the app is the company's top roadmap priority.
- Whoop raised $575 million from investors including Mayo Clinic and Qatar's sovereign wealth fund and is partnering with the National Council on Aging and AARP to tailor the product to older adults.
- Under the 10-year ACCESS pilot, Medicare pays companies based on outcomes — Whoop must show improved or controlled blood pressure, hemoglobin A1C, and LDL cholesterol in its patients to receive full payment.
- Whoop has shown it can decrease blood pressure by 5 mmHg in users on the platform, though Bhatt cited research on continuous glucose monitors showing that engagement alone (users check the app eight times daily) does not necessarily improve health outcomes.
- Whoop added the ability for users to discuss wearable data with clinicians this year, shortly before the FDA closed a warning letter that had classified its blood pressure-estimating feature as a medical device rather than a wellness tool.
Why it matters: Whoop is shifting from self-described wellness to clinically accountable medicine: under ACCESS, the company only gets paid if it demonstrates measurable improvements in blood pressure, A1C, and LDL cholesterol in seniors. The bet puts performance accountability on a brand that until recently sold itself as a fitness gadget, and its $575M raise from Mayo Clinic and Qatar's sovereign wealth fund signals investors expect the clinical pivot to stick.
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