About 32.2 million Teladoc Health Inc. members access its mental health telemedicine product making it the second most popular product in the Teladoc offering.
In total, about 92 million people have access to Teladoc (NYSE: TDOC). Its most established product, its legacy telemedicine line, sees use from about 82% of its membership, according to a presentation given by CEO Jason Gorevic on Monday at the 2022 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference.
About 35% of Teladoc members access the mental health product.
“Our north star so to speak is to become the first place that consumers turn for all of their health care needs,” Gorevic said. “Because all of an individual’s needs are fundamentally connected, you can’t pull apart someone’s mental health care from their physical health.”
Gorevic said this interconnectedness spans from episodic care needs to chronic condition treatment, specifically highlighting the deep connection between a patient’s blood pressure, weight and mental health as an example.
“A provider understanding what that consumer’s situation is with all of those dynamics can deliver better care for the whole person that ultimately yields better outcomes and lower costs,” Gorevic said. “Treating only one of those parts is insufficient at best and can be detrimental at worst.”
At a strategic level, the company takes a “land and expand” approach to new users and new clients. With a wide range of services, Gorevic said the company has a strong likelihood of selling people on another service if they can sell them on one, like legacy telemedicine users also moving into chronic care management or mental health.
The coronavirus pandemic forced telehealth’s adoption by the mainstream with almost explosive force in 2020 — with a 3,090% increase in utilization in just the Medicare population. And regulatory changes are likely to make telehealth a permanent and prominent feature in behavioral health.
The massive and sudden adoption of telehealth in the U.S. is an obvious boon for Teladoc.
Just before Teladoc’s presentation on Monday, the company filed a report with the Securities and Exchange Commission that states Teladoc’s revenue for 2021 should total about $2.03 billion, an 85.6% increase compared to Teladoc’s 2020 revenue of $1.09 billion.
Fair Health, a nonprofit that analyzes health insurance claims data, finds that mental health diagnosis and related visits dominate telehealth use — 63% of diagnoses from a telehealth visit were for a mental health condition while 52% of mental health diagnoses were for generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder.
Teledoc’s play in mental health is also another example of a health care company not historically associated with behavioral health making major moves in the space. In December, Behavioral Health Business reported that CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) completed 8 million virtual visits for behavioral health care during 2021.
This comes at a time when CVS plans to simultaneously whittle its physical footprint by about 10% — closing about 900 stores — and roll out its HealthHUB concept in more of its remaining stores. These hubs could see more on-location behavioral health services as the concept further develops.
Better incorporation of behavioral health and physical health is a key focus of CVS and its insurance subsidiary Aetna.
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