Digital health’s recent momentum saw another boost this week as mental health startup Alma hauled in a massive $130M Series D round. Between the return of nine-figure funding rounds and a new string of mega-acquisitions, it’s almost starting to feel like 2021 again.
Alma helps mental health practitioners manage their practices and contract with payors, equipping them with teletherapy software, automated billing and scheduling tools, as well as a directory to help patients find in-network providers.
- The platform is offered through a $125/mo membership, which allows clients to keep all earnings generated from patient visits. Over the past 12 months, Alma has tripled the size of its network to 8,000 providers licensed to practice in all 50 states.
- Nearly 40% of providers in Alma’s network self-identify as Black, Hispanic, or Asian, and the company said that one of its main goals with the fresh funding will be to connect its diverse clinicians to underserved patient populations.
Originally founded in 2018, Alma’s taken a pretty interesting path to end up at its current managed services membership model.
- The company started as a coworking space for therapists prior to the pandemic, then began adding support tools to make its users’ lives easier as it evolved into an MSO.
- Now Alma is aggregating those independent therapists into its own provider network that it can leverage to negotiate directly with payors.
The Takeaway
At a time when payors are clamoring to improve access to mental healthcare, Alma’s unique approach to provider enablement and payor negotiations seems like it might be part of the solution. Alma is only the third mental health startup to raise a $100M+ round so far this year, following Lyra Health and Brightline.
