WASHINGTON— John Gorman, founder and former Chairman of Gorman Health Group and a former Clinton appointee to the Health Care Financing Administration (now the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services), today announced the formation of Nightingale Partners LLC, the first Opportunity Zone Fund to invest in social determinants of health with Medicare Advantage and Medicaid health plans.
Based in one of DC’s Opportunity Zones (OZs), Nightingale will leverage the OZ statute (passed in 2017 with final regs issued in late December 2019) to make major evidence-based investments in anti-poverty and complex care initiatives in partnership with insurers, such as housing, food security, non-urgent medical transport, community health workers and managed long-term care. Nightingale’s unique business model will share savings with insurers to repay its investors and continually reinvest in program expansions to serve more vulnerable patients. The firm’s goal is to invest $1 Billion in OZ capital over the next 8 years. Nightingale’s lead sponsor is CapZone Impact Investments, a major OZ fund based in Connecticut.
“The biggest impediment to more holistic care for complex, vulnerable patients has always been money,” Gorman said. “Because we spend less than 1% of our GDP on our social safety net, it falls to health insurers to meet basic human needs of the most expensive patients, and many times those insurers fall short of . Nightingale seeks to de-risk investments in social determinants of health by providing sustainable, long-term capital and monetizing the health care savings these investments generate. It warms my heart that we can invest in improving health care for low-income Americans using the OZ program.”
“We are thrilled to work with John and his team on these high impact opportunities,” said Gene Huang, CEO of CapZone Healthcare, a Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund partner of CapZone Impact Investments. “Health status has a strong negative correlation with income which creates a significant opportunity to improve the health of individuals and families through investments in low income communities. Poor health also contributes to reduced income so addressing health issues reduces poverty.”
Gorman assembled a team of experts to help carry out the Nightingale mission, including:
Some of Nightingale’s investments in development include the following:
About Nightingale Partners LLC
Nightingale is a Qualified Opportunity Zone Fund and advisory firm connecting capital to payers and providers of care to the medically underserved, based in Washington, DC. Nightingale’s mission is to improve the quality of care and reduce unnecessary health care expenditures for our most vulnerable patients through advanced technology, locally-curated social services providers, and innovative financing to address Social Determinants of Health (SDOH).
About CapZone Impact Investments LLC
CapZone Impact Investments LLC was created in 2018 as an innovative investment model to connect profits to purpose. CapZone is a leading national Opportunity Zone investment platform developing Opportunity Zone projects and other Environmental, Social and Governance plus Resilience investments for Social Impact at scale. CapZone brings together human, financial and intellectual capital to invest in low income communities throughout the U.S. using the OZ program.