[Updated] Virtual Addiction Treatment Provider Boulder Care Raises $36M

Boulder Care has raised over $50 million following its latest funding round. 

The Portland, Oregon-based virtual substance-use disorder treatment provider has garnered $35.7 million of a $41.7 million equity funding round, according to public Securities and Exchange Commission documents. 

Following the investment, Boulder Care will triple its clinician count, add new markets, and expand its value-based care partnerships, especially with Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs), according to a news release.

“Linking arms with insurers has helped Boulder make care affordable for low-income Americans who are fighting hard to recover,” Stephanie Strong, Boulder Care CEO and founder, said in the release. “We are moving the industry toward transparency and value, recognizing cash-pay models have excluded the very people who need care most.”

Most of Boulder Care’s revenue comes MCOs. Additionally, half of the company’s revenue in the trailing 12 months came from “alternative payment arrangements for a set of comprehensive services delivered by a multidisciplinary care team.” Since Boulder Care operates on an in-network basis most patients pay nothing out of pocket, the release states.

New investors in the round include the U.S. affiliate of Shanghai-based Qiming Venture Partners, Burlingame-California-based Goodwater Capital and San Francisco-based Laerdal Million Lives Fund.

Investors from previous funding efforts also joined the Series B round. This includes Tusk Ventures, Greycroft Partners — which participated in Boulder Care’s $10.5 million Series A funding round — First Round Capital and Gaingels.

Boulder Care treats opioid use disorder (OUD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) via a mobile app whereby patients can connect with a caregiving team and receive medical care, peer recovery coaching and care coordination. It also employs case managers to provide comprehensive support for complex legal, financial, and housing needs.

The company also provides medication-assisted treatment (MAT). Its website states it prescribes buprenorphine-naloxone (Suboxone) for OUD treatment and naltrexone (ReVia or Vivitrol), acamprosate (Campral) and others to treat AUD. 

Since the Series A was disclosed at the end of 2021, the company has increased revenue by over 10X, added more than enterprise customers and secured 100% annual patient renewal.

Boulder Care makes a point of care for people in heightened need because of its focus on equity, the release states. Over 80% of its patients live below the poverty line, the release states. Households of one and four are considered impoverished if household income is less than $13,590 and $27,750, respectively.

The company also runs special programs for people seniors, pregnant people, incinerated people and unsheltered people.

It also boasts retention of about 70% a year and about 90% one month, the release states.

In November, Seattle-based public health system EvergreenHealth launched a partnership with Boulder Care. A month earlier, it received the Gold Seal of Approval for Behavioral Health Care and Human Services Accreditation from the Joint Commission. 

Behavioral Health Business has tracked several deals and investments in companies seeking to meet the need for more SUD treatment through telehealth and other digital tools; some funding rounds were among the largest of any service type in 2021.

Earlier in the week, Boston-based Bicycle Health raised $50 million in a Series B funding round. The company has raised $83 million, in total, for its virtual OUD platform.

Monument, which offers a digital alcohol recovery program, acquired its competitor, Tempest, for an undisclosed sum in May.

In 2021, virtual addiction treatment providers Ophelia Health Inc. and Quit Genius completed Series B rounds of $50 million and $64 million, respectively. 

Editor’s Note: June 10, 2022 — BHB updated with new information about the investment firms involved in the Series B round that Boulder Care released after this story was published.