Boulder Care, a virtual provider for substance use disorder, is extending its treatment to adolescents in partnership with UnitedHealthcare Community Plan, the company told MedCity News exclusively.
Portland, Oregon-based Boulder Care works with payers and treats people with opioid use disorder and alcohol use disorder. Its app provides access to a team of care providers and peer recovery coaching. Boulder Care’s addiction specialists can also prescribe buprenorphine, a medication that treats opioid use disorder.
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Starting in the second quarter of 2024, the company’s telehealth and medication management services will become available to eligible teens covered by UnitedHealthcare Community Plan, a Medicaid plan. Boulder Care is starting by serving adolescents in Washington and will be partnering with pediatric primary care and community-based organizations, including schools. The startup is also bringing on consulting experts in pediatrics and case managers with experience helping this population. In addition, to support its adolescent patients, Boulder is hiring peers who are between the ages of 18 and 35 and have lived experience with addiction.
Stephanie Strong, CEO and founder of Boulder Care, said that telemedicine is an effective way to treat adolescents with substance use disorder as it is more affordable and allows them to continue living their lives.
“We can reach many people at once without disrupting their day-to-day lives,” Strong said in an interview. “This is particularly important for Medicaid patients who don’t really have the luxury of flexibility in their schedules as well as being low income.”
The arrangement with UnitedHealthcare Community Plan is a value-based contract with a focus on outcomes like patient engagement, retention and social factors, including housing and employment, according to Strong.
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Boulder Care’s expansion into adolescent treatment comes at a dire time. In 2022, an average of 22 teens aged 14 to 18 died in the U.S. each week from drug overdoses. In the same year, 38 youths in Washington died from an opioid-related overdose, about triple the number in 2019, according to The Seattle Times. Of the 38 deaths, 37 were tied to synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl.
“As a parent and someone who is really close to the community in this work, it’s deeply troubling how young opioid use disorder and addiction is impacting our country. … We really need to not just focus on overdose and reversing overdose at the moment, but on overall prevention, education and practical ways of helping people get treatment and solving all the social needs that may make someone more prone to addictive disease,” Strong urged.
Strong said she ultimately hopes to scale its adolescent services to more health plans and more states in the future and “break the generational cycle of addiction.”
“We know that these traumas ripple into future generations. By helping people early in life and wrapping around entire families, our goal is to create a healthier future for our country in the midst of this worsening crisis,” Strong stated.
Other companies that offer virtual addiction services include Bicycle Health and Ophelia, while other behavioral health companies that support adolescents include Equip Health and Brightline.
Photo: Alisa Zahoruiko, Getty Images
