Virtual behavioral health provider Valera Health aims to be a “one-stop-shop” for those in need of mental health support. The company provides care regardless of age, severity or insurance type.
“We see both kids and adults,” CEO Dr. Thomas Tsang said in an interview. “We see mild, moderate and severe [mental illness] … We accept all lines of business including commercial, Medicare and Medicaid, which not a whole lot of companies accept.”
Behavioral Health, Interoperability and eConsent: Meeting the Demands of CMS Final Rule Compliance
In a webinar on April 16 at 1pm ET, Aneesh Chopra will moderate a discussion with executives from DocuSign, Velatura, and behavioral health providers on eConsent, health information exchange and compliance with the CMS Final Rule on interoperability.
Now Valera Health, based in New York City, will work to advance its care after receiving $44.5 million in series B funding, bringing its total funding amount to about $70 million. The financing round was led by Heritage Group, and included participation from the investment arms of insurers, like Cigna Ventures and Trinnovate Ventures of Blue Cross Blue Shield Arizona.
Heritage Group chose to invest in the company because of its care for a wide range of people, said Lauren Brueggen, partner of the firm.
“Valera’s ability to engage patients, improve outcomes and reduce total cost of care for populations ranging from lower acuity to the seriously mentally ill population has established the practice as a leader in the behavioral health space,” Brueggen said in a news release.
Cigna, meanwhile, invested in Valera because of its use of evidence-based care, said Tom Richards, global leader for strategy and business development at Cigna. The payer is one of Valera’s insurance partners.
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A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
“Valera’s focus on evidence-based care and its holistic approach to treatment enables providers to deliver exceptional care, including to those that suffer from high acuity conditions,” Richards said in the release.
With the funding, the company will invest in analytics and data science, technology and growing its staff, Tsang said. The latter includes investing in more providers, account leads and business development professionals.
The startup provides a combination of therapy, care management and medication management, Tsang said. It currently offers care to patients in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Vermont, Arizona, Washington and Connecticut. Valera’s insurance partners include Aetna, Humana and UnitedHealthcare. However, those who don’t have insurance can also access the company’s services starting at $59 per therapy session, according to the website.
A study on Valera found that patients who used its app showed significant improvement on depression and anxiety scores and remission rates. Additionally, engagement from users was at 68%, when tech adoption among Medicaid populations is usually at 30%.
Ultimately, the company aims to serve those who often struggle to receive mental health care, Tsang said.
“Our overwhelming mission is to provide access to those who really need it the most,” he stated. “Particularly patients with severe mental illness and folks who traditionally have very little access to care.”
Other virtual mental health providers include Brave Health, a company primarily focused on Medicaid patients, and Brightline, which cares for families. Brave also recently announced a funding round, securing $40 million.
