Mental Health August 08, 2023

Making a Clinical Impact: UpLift's Integrated Behavioral Health Model Increases Access to High-Quality Psychotherapy and Psychiatry

Early traction secures $10.7M in Series A funding and a new Medicaid MCO partnership that will form a first-of-its-kind clinically integrated network (CIN) to expand behavioral healthcare access for Medicaid members in Washington, D.C.

The lack of affordable behavioral healthcare is a key driver in America’s mental health crisis. A staggering 43% of U.S. adults who struggle with mental health did not receive the care they needed in the past year. Fewer than 30% of therapists accept insurance, with mental illnesses and co-occurring chronic conditions increasing the cost of care by two to three times.

In 2020, UpLift was built to tackle these issues and expand access to critically needed behavioral healthcare. It is a technology-driven behavioral health platform that enables whole-person care through the integration of physical and mental health. UpLift partners with leading national and regional health insurance plans to deliver high-quality, virtual-first psychotherapy and psychiatry.

Since its launch, UpLift has achieved some remarkable results and market traction:

84% of people experiencing severe depression felt those symptoms lessen
3 out of 4 clients say they feel better within 90 days
On average, patients can attend their first session in 1.4 days

Now, UpLift has raised an additional $10.7 million in Series A financing, bringing the company’s total funding level to more than $22 million. The new funding will further expand access to UpLift’s team-based behavioral healthcare model, enabling thousands of healthcare providers to accept insurance for the first time and help patients match with the right team of providers based on their unique clinical and non-clinical needs.

UpLift has also contracted with AmeriHealth Caritas, a national leader in Medicaid managed care. UpLift and AmeriHealth will collaborate to enroll new and existing network providers onto the UpLift platform, enabling them to deliver a seamless and effective patient experience with 24/7 digital access. This unique partnership will expand AmeriHealth Caritas’ network, activate its existing network of local, independent practices, and allow smaller providers to participate in its value-based care program.

“We built UpLift on the notion that the behavioral healthcare market would eventually shift from a focus on pure access to one of both access and quality,” says Kyle Talcott, UpLift CEO. “By obtaining this funding and forging our new partnership with AmeriHealth Caritas, UpLift is uniquely positioned to boldly move into this space by creating high-performance CINs that reward providers for delivering high-quality, measurement-based behavioral healthcare.”

Building a game-changing behavioral health platform

The UpLift story began at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when provider capacity constraints created an urgent need to improve behavioral healthcare access. This led to the formation of multiple startups aimed at breaking down barriers to care. But while the rush of new solutions increased utilization, it also brought an unfortunate side effect to health plans, which incurred higher costs for treating patients with routine behavioral healthcare conditions.

This is where UpLift delivers true market differentiation. UpLift is one of the few that delivers care entirely on its own platform. This gives them the type of rich clinical and non-clinical data needed to evaluate the effectiveness of their services and achieve true measurement-based care. Additionally, UpLift is one of only a few solutions in the market capable of delivering integrated psychiatry and therapy, allowing them to care for both routine and incredibly complex patients.

A new model for behavioral healthcare delivery

UpLift’s unique value-added approach creates powerful results for patients, providers and payers alike.

Connecting patients with the right care

UpLift helps patients get the right care at the right time through an integrated, team-based behavioral healthcare model that combines therapy, psychiatry and pharmacotherapy. Through proprietary data models and artificial intelligence, UpLift connects patients aged 13 and up to in-network therapists who accept their insurance and meet their key needs.

The platform also offers rematching capabilities to help patients find new providers when needed. Patients can book providers in real time 24/7, see patients as soon as the next day and choose from either virtual or in-person care. UpLift has already helped patients achieve a 98% first match rate, an 86% second visit retention rate, and earned a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 71, well above the industry average of 9.

Delivering data for providers

With Uplift, providers get access to data that helps them improve clinical decision-making and evidence-based care. UpLift can share data from weekly therapist visits within a provider’s EHR, allowing clinicians to adjust psychiatric treatment plans faster and more flexibly.

The platform also allows for measurement of patient-reported outcomes–which further support providers by facilitating effective prescribing, quality improvement and accurate risk adjustment.

Finally, UpLift enables thousands of providers to accept insurance payments for the first time–driving patient acquisition and retention.

Providing value for payers

Enabling more providers to accept insurance also benefits payers. The platform’s providers are in-network with most Commercial and Medicare plans, while also offering affordable self-pay. Payers can also activate their existing behavioral health networks through the formation of high-performance Managed Service Organizations (MSOs).

To date, UpLift’s network includes thousands of providers, many of whom have come as direct referrals from other active providers. UpLift accepts insurance payments from most major commercial, Medicare and Medicaid health plans, including through national agreements with UnitedHealthcare, Aetna and Cigna. The platform currently serves patients in Washington, D.C., Florida, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia.

Furthering UpLift’s crucial work

We are grateful to the companies that made this latest round of Series A funding happen, including new investors Ballast Point Ventures, a late-stage venture capital and growth equity fund, Kapor Capital, and Front Porch Ventures, along with existing funders, including B Capital, a global multi-state investment firm.

With an influx of new funds and promising results, UpLift is well-positioned to enter new markets and connect even more people with the behavioral health services they urgently need.

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