Across California, access to mental health care is not meeting the market demand.
Blue Shield of California is currently working to develop an enhanced network for in-person and virtual mental health services through the traditional delivery channels to help meet this need, according to Angela Kalousek Ebrahimi, Blue Shield of CA senior director of lifestyle medicine.
But there is an immediate need for a huge subset of the population to access mental health services for lower-acuity type problems and that's where digital mental health tools can help, Ebrahimi said.
The insurer will now offer Ginger's services through its Wellvolution program, Ginger is a provider of on-demand virtual mental health care. Six months ago, Ginger and Headspace merged in a $3 billion deal that created Headspace Health.
Health plan members who are enrolled in the Wellvolution program now have access to Ginger’s on-demand, personalized mental health support that can be accessed on their smartphone.
RELATED: Blue Shield of California adds Headspace to Wellvolution platform
"We did vet a number of different digital mental health solutions and there were many reasons that we selected Ginger," Ebrahimi said. "Ginger’s solution has demonstrated positive clinical outcomes for the patients that engaged in their solution in an efficient delivery model. The CBT coaching model is flexible so that it can be tailored to the participant’s needs while being contained on one participant pathway."
Ebrahimi added, "It also satisfied the need we were looking to fill which is to help the masses of people that deal with sub-clinical anxiety and depression. Maybe not advanced enough for clinical therapy—but not functioning at an optimal level. We are seeing tons of this since COVID and Ginger allows people to access the care they need when they need it."
Ginger's user satisfaction rate is 4.7 out of 5, she added.
Ginger provides on-demand mental health support via smartphone with behavioral-health coaches, licensed therapists and psychiatrists. Its solution can help individuals manage anxiety, depression, sleep problems and other mental health challenges.
Blue Shield launched Wellvolution in partnership with Solera Health and aims to provide a personalized, digital lifestyle and health experience.
Last fall, the nonprofit health plan announced Headspace, now a Headspace Health brand, on Wellvolution. With the addition of Ginger, Wellvolution members now have access to Headspace Health’s full spectrum of mental health and wellness self-help and clinical services on one platform, from one smartphone, according to the company.
The partnership expands Ginger's reach to Blue Shield's approximately 4 million members.
RELATED: JPM 2022: Headspace Health grabs startup Sayana to build out AI-based mental health tools
"The addition of Ginger to their Wellvolution platform provides members with more options for care—in particular free text-based coaching 24/7 and in-network video-based therapy and psychiatry. For Ginger, it expands the total number of members Ginger can serve in CA well beyond employees in the state who today access Ginger as a covered benefit through their self-insured employers," Dana Udall, Ph.D., chief clinical officer at Headspace Health told Fierce Healthcare.
According to a recent study by Mental Health America, more than half of adults with a mental illness do not receive treatment, totaling over 27 million adults in the U.S. who are going untreated.
In California, nearly 1 in 6 adults experience a mental illness of some kind, yet they may be experiencing different levels of need and acuity, Udall said.
Mental health is not a linear journey, and thus, members need access to a full continuum of preventative and clinical care services that can meet them where they are, at any moment in time, she noted.
"Many will benefit from the self-guided content available from Headspace, and we’re already seeing a record number of sign-ups for Headspace via the Wellvolution platform to date," she said.
RELATED: Lessons from year one of Blue Shield of California's Wellvolution program
Since October, about 18,000 members signed up for Headspace.
"By adding Ginger, members now can access additional levels of virtual care, from text-based interactions with a certified coach 24/7 to higher levels of clinical care in the form of therapy and psychiatry when needed. More options mean more individuals can receive the appropriate level of care that they need in that moment," she said.
Members who have chronic conditions also need mental health support.
"So if a member joins Wellvolution for support losing weight, or reversing type 2 diabetes, they can also through the same vehicle access mental health support through Ginger," Ebrahimi told Fierce Healthcare. "This can happen the reverse way as well; a member who reaches out for mental health support, may also find assistance addressing their cardio-metabolic needs."