Headway, a mental health advisory startup that deals with the messiness of insurance, building out a behavioral health network of therapists who accept insurance, closed a $26 million Series A funding round.
Investors include – Thrive, GV (formerly Google Ventures), and Accel (formerly Accel Partners), and a group of founders from One Medical, Flatiron Health, and Clover Health.
The New York-based Headway was founded by Andrew Adams and Kevin Chan in 2019. According to Adams, one in four people have treatable mental health issues, but because of the price and the fact that 70% of therapists do not accept insurance, they do not often seek care.
Since March, the company has seen a surge in mental health patient demand. Visits nearly quadrupled, Adams said. But Headway also saw increased interest from providers. Many of them referenced a “call to arms feeling,” he added.
The Headway platform is designed to connect patients with therapists and provide administrative support to therapists who do not typically accept insurance. The company has more than 1,600 therapists and psychiatrists on its platform.
Users can search on the platform to see if a therapist is covered in-network. All the company’s therapists and psychiatrists offer virtual sessions covered by major insurers, including UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna, and startup Oscar.
“We’ve made it easy to accept insurance by removing the typical burdens through our free software platform. With our platform, anyone can freely search and find a provider accepted by their specific plan, whether it’s a high-end platinum plan or a cost-sensitive plan,” Adams said.
Headway has raised $32 million to date, including a $4.5 million seed round. The company received angel investment from the founders of some healthcare companies like One Medical, Flatiron Health, and Clover Health.
According to Mercom funding data, digital mental care startups have raised almost $1 billion in the past five years. Online mental health platform, Togetherall, has secured a $10 million growth investment.
