Following Nationwide Expansion, Virtual Eating Disorder Provider Equip Focuses on Medicaid

Digital eating disorder provider Equip has announced its nationwide expansion. The virtual provider will now be able to see patients in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

The San Diego-based company began seeing patients in October 2020. Less than a year later, it inked its first payer partnerships with UnitedHealthcare. Now, it works with a long list of national payers, including Atena, Anthem and Cigna.

“We’ve grown pretty extensively since then, signing 10-plus other commercial payers and our first Medicaid partner, Partnership Health Plan of Northern California,” Kristina Saffran, Equip CEO, told Behavioral Health Business. “My work every day is just to continue building in-network partnerships so that it’s accessible to every family and no family has to pay out of pocket.”

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Saffran said UnitedHealthcare came to the company, asking how Equip could become its national provider. This, and other payer requests, prompted the company to quickly expand its geographic footprint.

Founded in 2019, Equip provides virtual family-based treatment (FBT) for individuals living with eating disorders. It does this through a team-based approach. Patients and their families work with a therapist, physician, peer mentor, family mentor and a dietitian.

The startup has gained traction with investors. In March, Equip raised $58 million in Series B funding, which brought the company’s total raise to $75 million.

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A focus on Medicaid

As for the future, Equip has its eye on expanding further into the Medicaid space.

Saffran noted that eating disorders impact all populations and socioeconomic statuses.

“Unfortunately, far too many people still think that [eating disorders are] affluent vanity issues that affect thin, white girls, and that’s not the case at all,” Saffran said. “They really affect people equally across race, class, ethnicity – 40% of those who suffer are men. The majority of people who suffer are not technically underweight. And importantly, for Medicaid, we know that as food insecurity rises in a community, eating disorders directly rise. So this definitely affects the Medicaid population.”

In fact, a 2021 study published in Eating Behaviors found that unhealthy weight control behaviors like skipping meals was more prevalent in young women with low socioeconomic status, than their middle and upper socioeconomic peers.

Saffran said a big part of her job is educating Medicaid payers about the scope of eating disorders.

“We’re actively working with a number of managed Medicaid organizations in contracting right now,” Saffran said. “And part of our strategy is just to continue to chip away to ensure that everyone has access.”

As the company continues to expand its reach and coverage area, Saffran said that it will remain completely virtually.

“We’ve really seen that with this population, virtual is not only just as good, but actually even better, and again, enabling people to build a life worth living and bringing people’s villages into a treatment program,” Saffran said. “We replace all levels of care, except for the inpatient level of care. And so we’ve partnered closely with inpatient hospitals across the community and also local provider groups across the nation to have strong care coordination.”

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