In Competitive Funding Landscape, Behavioral Health Upstarts Must Outlast the ‘Walking Dead’

This is an exclusive BHB+ story Once investor darlings, budding behavioral health companies have found it more difficult to raise funds over the last two years. In 2021 and 2022, venture dollars were flowing freely into the space. Rock Health reported that investors poured a staggering $4.9 billion into behavioral health in 2021. In comparison, […]

‘You Have to Get Back to Fundamentals’: Making Sense of 2024’s Feast or Famine Venture Funding

The digital behavioral health sector has seen a dearth of venture funding. And what funding is available has been especially hard to get since the peak of digital behavioral health funding in 2021. The year 2024 reiterated essential lessons for digital behavioral health companies seeking funding as total funding amounts lingered near the bottom of […]

Executives Reflect on a Slow Year for Mental Health

2024 was a year of slow progression for the behavioral health industry as it moved towards the new normal after multiple years of disruption brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Conversations about value-based care continued to dominate the space. However, most providers remained dependent on the traditional fee-for-service model. M&A in behavioral health was sluggish […]

Navigating Digital Behavioral Health’s Growing Pains: From Payer Partnerships to Employer Contracts

Once a rarity, digital behavioral health companies are now an established part of the industry’s ecosystem. However, as this subsector of behavioral health begins to mature, many startups face a number of growing pains, whether it is garnering enough investor dollars to stay afloat or developing contracting strategies with employers. I don’t see these hardships […]

Fort Health Defies Challenging Funding Environment with New VC Raise, Expands into 2 States

Virtual pediatric behavioral health provider Fort Health is executing its partner-first, expand-after strategy, securing a round of funding while landing a new payer partnership. The New York City-based provider raised a $5.5 million round led by venture capital firms Twelve Below and Vanterra, Fort Health exclusively told Behavioral Health Business. The funds will be used […]

Integrating Behavioral Health into Pediatric Care Could Have Untapped Potential

Rates of behavioral health conditions among children and adolescents have skyrocketed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. But, finding appropriate care can be challenging for pediatric patients and their caregivers. Partnerships between pediatric behavioral health providers and primary care practices could be one way to improve care integration in the future. “Three out of […]

‘Everyone’s Trying to Solve This From Different Angles’: Addressing the Worsening Pediatric Behavioral Health Crisis

Rates of pediatric behavioral health conditions have skyrocketed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the federal government has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into pediatric mental health services. Last year, the Biden administration pledged nearly $300 million to expand mental health services in schools, for instance. Still, addressing the youth […]