Google Health's data deals and Medicare's rules
Google Health signed three data deals in two months. Each one brings a new kind of health data into a single consumer app.
Aug 11: Abbott said glucose trends from its Lingo monitor, sold over the counter to adults 18 and older who don’t use insulin, will show in the Google Health app. The integration rolls out later this year.
Oct 12: Function Health said US users will be able to import results from its 160+ lab tests into Google Health “later this fall.”
Also Oct 12: Google announced a multi-year partnership with Flo Health and made a strategic investment in it. Google says more than 80 million women use Flo each month. Syncing starts early next year.
All three feed Google Health Coach, which the companies describe as wellness guidance.
Medicare has rules for this kind of data. FDA’s Jan 6, 2026 guidance treats wearable estimates of blood pressure, oxygen, glucose or heart rate variability as wellness features only if they don’t prompt specific clinical action. Medicare pays for remote patient monitoring only when the device meets FDA’s definition of a medical device. CMS’s ACCESS model, which started July 5, pays for outcomes in Original Medicare. Medicare Advantage enrollees are not eligible.
Why it matters
Consumer apps can now hold labs, glucose trends and wearable data together, but federal rules still decide which of those readings can trigger care that Medicare pays for.
NovoCare (Novo Nordisk)
