Optum rumored on the digital health acquisition hunt again with AbleTo virtual behavioral health

April 29, 2020 | by

Optum, the part of UnitedHealthGroup that runs engagement, technology, and financial services for UHG, is in advanced negotiations to acquire AbleTo, a New York City-based behavioral health and virtual therapy provider, according to CNBC. Unusually, there is also a number attached: $470 million, about 10 times their forward revenue.

AbleTo is already well acquainted with Optum, as their Ventures arm provided financing in January 2019 in a corporate round. Over the past 12 years, the company has raised close to $47 million through a Series D. Interestingly, one of the early investors was Aetna, pre-CVS. Crunchbase

Optum of late has been on an acquisition tear, with first dialysis provider DaVita for $5 billion and then telehealth/remote patient monitoring company Vivify Health for an undisclosed but certainly far less amount. AbleTo is attractive not only in the context of telehealth (at last the belle of the ball!) but also for the underserved behavioral health market. Confirmation of its attractiveness? A fresh crop of competitors such as Quartet Health, Lyra, and ‘traditional’ telemedicine providers such as Doctor on Demand.

AbleTo was founded by Michael Laskoff, at one time quite the ‘face’ in the NYC digital health scene, who went on some years back to found another behavioral health company, Annum Health, focusing on alcohol addiction. AbleTo is one of the pioneers of virtual therapy, both telephonic and audio/video, using care teams of coaches and LCSWs to provide short-term cognitive therapy sessions. It is certainly an underserved market with over 50 percent of those researched citing cost and stigma to not obtain treatments, with about 2/3rds surprisingly under age 50, but not surprisingly about half with one or more chronic conditions. Most of its business is with payers and self-funded companies, although it still offers individual therapy plans.   Mobihealthnews

NYeC Digital Health Conference (NYC)–next week

November 29, 2016 | by

NYeC Digital Health Conference, 6-7 December 2016 | New World Stages, New York, NY
The New York eHealth Collaborative’s Digital Health Conference brings together 500 senior-level healthcare industry leaders to learn about new innovations and to foster dynamic conversation addressing how healthcare is being redefined through technology. It is well on track to fill completely, so if you’ve been delaying your booking, now is the time. And our readers enjoy a 10 percent discount.

Updated and expanded agenda here.

Keynote speakers:
• Robert Wachter, MD, Professor and Interim Chairman of the Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, author of “The Digital Doctor: Hope, Hype and Harm at the Dawn of Medicine’s Computer Age” [TTA 16 Apr 15]. (To this Editor, this is a must-see keynote!)
• Steven Johnson, PBS Host and Bestselling Author, “How We Got To Now” and “Where Good Ideas Come From”

Some other speakers: Carol Raphael, the former CEO of Visiting Nurse Service of NY; Kristopher Smith of Northwell Health; James Mault of Qualcomm Life and Aron Gupta of Quartet Health. This year a who’s who of New York’s healthcare and health tech community will gather for two days of networking, lively intellectual exchange, and exploration to see what’s new, what’s cutting edge and what will shape the future of healthcare.

It’s worth taking the trip to NYC for this right before the holidays! For more information, click here for the website.

Telehealth & Telecare Aware Readers receive a 10% registration discount. Click on this link or the sidebar advert. Important–use code TTA when registering. For updates, @NYeHealth. TTA is a conference partner/media partner of the NYeC DHC.