Beginning this month, Medicare beneficiaries in 11 states can access virtual mental health care through Talkspace, the Upper West Side-based telehealth company announced Tuesday.
Talkspace started the process of getting licensed as an approved Medicare provider about a year ago, Dr. Jon Cohen, the company’s chief executive, after Medicare began permanently covering telehealth mental health services in 2020. The initiative will match older patients with licensed providers for virtual sessions on the company’s platform. About 13 million beneficiaries in states with large populations that are covered by the insurance, including New York and California, will be able to access care.
The expansion comes as the need for mental health care among older New Yorkers is rising. The Mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health’s latest report shows about 85,000 older individuals in the city experienced depression in 2017, but less than 25% of those with mental illness currently receive professional treatment. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic worsened the issue, according to the agency, and the population faces disproportionate challenges in accessing care. The city’s fiscal 2025 executive budget for its Department for the Aging, which runs mental health programming for seniors, is $493 million.
Cohen told Crain’s that getting Talkspace providers approved for Medicare is an integral part of the company’s goal of being the largest in-network provider of virtual mental health services in the country. Medicare represents a “very significant” opportunity to expand the firm’s reach, he said. He added that currently, a very limited number of behavioral health providers accept Medicare, an access barrier the initiative aims to break down.
While Cohen did not share exactly how much Talkspace invested in the initiative, he said getting providers credentialed and building infrastructure to bill Medicare was a “significant undertaking.” Talkspace might have to bill differently depending on whether each provider is a psychiatrist or therapist, and Cohen said he expects reimbursement rates to be slightly less than those of commercial insurers.
The Medicare initiative is Talkspace’s latest bid to expand coverage for subsets of New Yorkers that often lack access to behavioral health care. Last November the company launched Teenspace, a partnership with the city that offers counseling to young adults who show signs of depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses. A $26 million contract will fund the pilot program through September 2026.
Talkspace aims to expand to all 50 states and cover 33 million Medicare members plus those enrolled in some Medicare Advantage plans by the end of 2024, according to the company.
Talkspace was founded in 2012. The company’s first-quarter results, released last week, surpassed analyst’s expectations with $45 million in revenue, a 36% increase over the first quarter of 2023.
Jacqueline Neber , 2024-05-14 20:33:25
Source link
