Some exceptions include Eleanor Health and Bicycle Health, which both focus on addiction treatment and do accept some Medicaid.

That camp includes highfliers like Lyra Health, Spring Health, Modern Health, and Headspace Health.State of play: Investors have poured capital into virtual behavioral health over the last two years, but most startups have employer-facing models. Year to date, 23,000 individuals have been referred to Brave Health.'The care delivery piece is necessary, but not sufficient.'īy the numbers: Brave Health serves more than 65 million covered lives across 18 states, partnering with 200-plus health plan contracts. 'When someone is thinking about getting mental health support, you may only have a window of time where that trust is there,' Lindow says.With a national average wait time for behavioral health services of 48 days, Brave Health prioritizes engagement with patients before they leave the hospital.How it works: Partnering with health plans and hospitals, Miami's Brave Health offers telehealth counseling, therapy, psychiatry and medication management - with a central focus on the serious mental illness population.

'There's an enormous societal need, but there's also a real business need for health plans,' Lindow says.Meanwhile, insurers are eager to address the rising medical costs associated with behavioral and mental health conditions - much of which falls on Medicaid plans. 'I don't think that number is going to start going the other direction in the near term, so the question becomes 'what can we do to get different results?'' CEO Anna Lindow says.1 in 4 Americans are covered by Medicaid and CHIP, while only 35% of psychiatrists accept Medicaid - a massive access problem only exacerbated by COVID.

Why it matters: The prevalence of mental illness and substance use disorders is highest in non-elderly adults with Medicaid, yet few startups are tackling this problem for this low-income population most in need. Brave Health, a virtual care startup dedicated to mental health care for Medicaid members, raised $40 million in Series C funding led by Town Hall Ventures, the parties tell Axios exclusively.

Anna lindow brave health