Thrive Global adds Function Health lab tests to employer offerings

Behavioral health tech company Thrive Global and preventive health management platform Function Health are banding together in a new health coaching partnership.

The two companies declared it is the first “personalized and proactive health testing benefit” on the market for employees.

Employees that participate in the program will skip Function’s 300,000 person waiting list and are eligible for more than 100 lab tests. A Thrive coach then helps the individual through guided sleep, exercise, mental health and nutrition advice.

“While annual physicals typically provide around 19 lab tests, Function offers access to more than five times that number, ensuring you don't miss critical aspects of your health,” said Function Chief Medical Officer Mark Hyman, M.D., in a statement. “Pairing these insights with Thrive's personalized coaching can have a profound impact on employees.”

Function's platform enables access to lab tests, available for $500 and HSA-eligible, that measure the heart, hormones, nutrients, toxins, autoimmunity to prevent disease before it is readily evident, the company says. Function partners with Quest Diagnostics for the lab testing.

Annual premiums for employer-sponsored health coverage increased by 7% this year, reported KFF. Chronic diseases make up 90% of total healthcare spending in the U.S., which comes in at a staggering $4.1 trillion, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in 2022.

OpenAI’s venture fund is also collaborating with Thrive to build an AI health coach aimed at helping the average person address chronic disease through personalized coaching. Participants in the Thrive and Function partnership can choose to share their data with the OpenAI health coach for more personalized, real-time recommendations

Thrive is owned by Arianna Huffington, and Function Health was co-founded by Hyman. Labs are conducted through Quest Diagnostics.

Hyman was set to host a virtual town hall with President Donald Trump and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Levels co-founder Casey Means, M.D., and former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The town hall was rescheduled once ahead of an incoming hurricane and again a few weeks later due to a change in Trump’s schedule.

Kennedy dropped out of the presidential race to endorse Trump in August. They have since adopted the "Make America Healthy Again" slogan in an effort to combat chronic illness. Trump recently said, if elected, he would let RFK “go wild” on health issues, worrying some health experts due to his prior comments on vaccines.