Talkspace Counseling Expands to Teens - One Example of Market Changes
There are several developments in how the market is trying to curb depression:
Talkspace App: 50% of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14, up to 75% developed by age 24, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, but Talkspace, which provides online therapy sessions, has announced their “Talkspace for Teens,” a service for teens ages 13-17. Before, the platform was only available for ages 18 and older because of legality issues but now teens can sign up for Talkspace with parental consent and can be connected with a licensed therapist in their state on their phone 24/7. With higher teen anxiety and depression, social media and tragedies like school shootings, mental health is more of a priority than ever and many are turning to online therapy apps as a way to fit mental health into their schedules. In one CT high school, a counselor recommends apps to students. Talkspace for Teens is announcing a partnership with the non-profit mental health organization Give an Hour to offer teens in need 500 months of free therapy. Give an Hour provides free mental healthcare to at-risk populations,
Mental Health Aid: Lady Gaga’s behavioral health program Mental Health First Aid is expanding its teen pilot program to 20 more high schools around the country this fall. The program focuses on preventing teen suicide and looking for the signs of mental health and empowers young people to support each other in times of need or crisis. This program is run by the National Council for Behavioral Health and supported by the Born this Way Foundation.
Rider's of the Storm: Lyft continues to open doors for seniors, expanding its rideshare partnerships with Medicare Advantage plans from Humana and BCBS in an effort to offer non-emergency medical transportation to Medicare Advantage members. One of the key social determinants of health is access to services, like rides, that promote health and wellbeing. More than a quarter of respondents to a recent Lyft report said that ridesharing helped them get to an appointment they would have otherwise missed, while 36 percent say that the ability to get to primary care and specialty appointments reduced their utilization of urgent care, according to Health Payer Intelligence. A recent article in the Health Affairs blog explains that when provider network CareMore Health added Lyft to its Medicare Advantage offering, ride costs decreased by 39% and wait times for ride arrivals dropped by 45%. Patient satisfaction exceeded 95%, including reduction in stress.
Labor & Delivery: UnitedHealthcare introduced a new bundled payment program for maternity care to help support the well-being of moms and babies before and after delivery by closing gaps in care and encouraging healthy, full-term pregnancies, as well as pre-term stress or depression (which can lead to complications such as early delivery) and post-partum depression. The new bundled payment program will reimburse a care provider or hospital for a defined episode of care such as prenatal, delivery and postpartum services under a single payment instead of a fee-for-service structure. By year-end 2019, UnitedHealthcare will expand the bundled payment program to as many as 20 care provider groups, including ones affiliated with the U.S. Women’s Health Alliance, a national organization of leading health care practices. Privia, a primary care and women's health group in the Houston area, is among the first involved.
Aisle Efficency: So-called CVS HealthHUBs will expand from Houston to four different markets by the end of the year. By 2021, CVS Health intends to operate 1,500 of these hubs across the country.