Issue 026
Welcome back to E&O Wednesdays, the enrollment-focused digital health newsletter from Exits & Outcomes — for paying subscribers only. This every-other-Wednesday issue digs into digital health companies that sell to self-insured employers as well as others that rely on enrollment-based distribution for their digital health programs.
E&O Wednesdays
Here are just a few quick employer-focused digital health bullets:
- Deloitte published its list of 500 of the fastest-growing private tech companies. The list included Noom with a 3,052 percent growth between 2017 and 2020. While Deloitte doesn’t disclose actual revenue numbers, the percent growth figure is a very helpful number because we know Noom brought in $12 million in revenue for 2017. Noom has only ever given a rounded-off number for its 2020 revenue figure, which it usually says was around $400 million. I previously assumed the company was rounding down, but if Deloitte’s 3,052 percent number is accurate then Noom was rounding up. Its 2020 annual revenue was more like $378 million if the math all holds.
- Other employer-focused digital health companies that Deloitte included in its fastest-growing list were League, DayTwo, One Drop, and meQuilibrium. Read through the full list here.
- A recent sales flyer from Hinge Health prepared for clients of Willis Towers Watson noted that while Hinge has “300+ customers” currently, some “65+” of them are WTW clients. Ignoring the confusing + signs and assuming those are hard numbers: That means about 20 percent of Hinge’s customers come from its relationship with WTW. KraftHeinz, Morton (the salt company), and AutoZone are among the big logo Hinge customers featured.
- Humana announced it would begin selling Virta Health to its employer group members.
- Virgin Pulse added seven new partners to its Homebase for Health bundling program: DarioHealth (Chronic condition management), Sworkit (fitness), Les Mills (fitness), Unmind (mental health), SWORD Health (MSK), Noom (VP labeled this as “nutrition”), Pivot (tobacco cessation). VP made clear that Pivot was a US-only offering. I mentioned the relationship with Noom already in the big E&O Noom Report a few weeks back. In August (Issue 019) I also dug up some info on how Virgin Pulse bundles and prices these mix-and-match partner programs.
- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) made some additions to its Small Group Portfolio (offerings for smaller employers with between 1 and 150 members): Digital Mental Health services from Learn to Live, Livongo (for diabetes and hypertension), Hinge Health (MSK), and Wondr Health (for weight loss).
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Big employer digital health stack: PayPal
Digital health companies love to boast how many Fortune 500 customers they have. This recurring feature of E&O Wednesdays digs into a different Fortune 500’s (or similarly-sized employer’s) digital health stack. So far, in past Wednesdays issues, I’ve written about the digital health benefits stacks of 25 big companies — click any of their names below to read that previously published Wednesdays newsletter over at the E&O site:
- Walmart,
- Activision Blizzard,
- JP Morgan Chase,
- The Home Depot,
- Boeing,
- 3M,
- Chevron,
- BorgWarner,
- Bank of America,
- UnitedHealth Group,
- Costco,
- eBay,
- McKesson,
- Ford,
- Dell,
- AT&T,
- Disney,
- Novartis,
- Red Bull,
- VMware,
- T-Mobile/Sprint,
- Adobe,
- Phillips 66,
- Cox Enterprises,
- and Wells Fargo.
This week, I dug into the digital health benefits that PayPal offers its full-time employees. Here’s what I found:
PayPal decided to scrap meQuilibrium and Real Appeal for 2022
I’ve seen other big employers announce when a digital health benefit program is set to be replaced by another one in the coming year, however, I’ve never seen an employer clearly state why. PayPal did just that in its benefits info for 2022 (ouch): ”
meQuilibrium and Real Appeal no longer will be offered — As of January 1, 2022, PayPal is discontinuing these programs due to their very low utilization rates. We made this decision because we offer other, more robust benefits to support you, including:
- Fitness and health resources, including Vida health coaching and dietitians for physical well-being and weight-loss support
- Calm for mindfulness, stress, and sleep support”
Vida for wellness coaching
I’ve mentioned this relationship before after noticing an enrollment ad on a social media site back in January that Vida posted to market to PayPal employees. Vida’s founder and CEO Stephanie Tilenius spent many years as an executive at PayPal and its former parent company eBay.
“Whether you want to lose weight, get fit, eat healthier, or manage a chronic condition, Vida wellness coaches are available to support you and help you change behaviors to live healthier and happier! U.S. employees, spouses/partners, and dependents age 18 and older have unlimited and free access to Vida wellness coaches. The Vida app matches you to a personalized health coach who knows how to help you successfully improve your health and make impactful lifestyle changes, so you feel better, live healthier, and improve your physical well-being. Your coach will develop a personalized plan and guide you every step of the way.”
Calm for sleep, stress, anxiety (new for 2022)
PayPal clearly tapped Calm because meQuilibrium had not proved popular enough with its employees, but it also positioned Calm as “more support for the whole you.” Here’s the rest of the company’s Calm pitch:
“Sleep better, lower stress, and reduce anxiety with Calm: Introducing Calm, the No. 1 app for mindfulness and relaxation to help you lower stress, reduce anxiety, sharpen focus, and improve sleep. Starting in 2022, you and your family members will have unlimited and free access to Calm, including:
- The Daily Calm with a new mindful theme every day
- More than 100 guided meditations
- Sleep Stories to help you drift into better sleep
- Music to help you relax and reduce stress
- Video lessons on mindful movement and gentle stretching”
Alight for benefits navigation
“Get help with navigating the health care system with a Health Pro consultant. If you need help understanding your health plan coverage, resolving an issue with your provider, or need more urgent assistance, Alight Health Pro can help. Your consultant will quickly and thoroughly research your inquiry and work directly with your insurance carrier or provider to resolve the issue.”
Teladoc’s Medical Experts (re-branded Best Doctors) for second opinions
“Teladoc Medical Experts Teladoc Medical Experts provide you, your dependents, and your parents and parents-in-law with complimentary access to expert medical opinion services. If you or a family member receives a diagnosis or is considering a certain treatment, contact Teladoc Medical Experts. They’ll assign a personal physician case manager who will work as your advocate.”
Cleo — coaching support for new parents
“Whether you’re planning a family, are a new parent, or preparing to return to work after a leave, you have support from Cleo, a benefit that helps you build confidence as a new parent with the personalized support of a Cleo coach and educational programs.”
Rethink for children’s developmental health
“If you’re raising a child with learning and/or behavioral challenges, Rethink can provide valuable support and research-based resources. You can have live teleconsultations with behavioral health experts, and you have access to easy-to-follow videos, printable materials, and training resources to best support your child in reaching his or her top potential. Rethink services are provided at no cost to you.”
PayPal’s EAP is Optum’s Live and Work Well and it includes Talkspace
“The EAP provides counseling and consultation services— including convenient virtual visits and virtual mental health visits—designed to help you and your eligible family members with a wide range of personal, emotional, and financial issues. The EAP offers 10 counseling sessions per concern, per year on topics such as:
- Stress, depression, and anxiety
- Personal and family relationship challenges
- Emotional wellness
There’s no enrollment required. EAP services are provided at no cost to you.”
Virtual visits via the employee’s health plan — UHC or Kaiser
PayPal’s benefits summary for 2022 doesn’t even mention general virtual visits as a perk, which is surprising given how detailed and comprehensive the company’s benefits are. PayPal does make it much more obvious on its benefits site for employees that virtual visits are available for minor medical issues, but it’s still a bit odd they get zero mentions in the benefits packet. (Almost as if they are so commonplace that it goes without saying?) On the company’s benefits site:
“Chat with a doctor at any time, day or night, from wherever you are. All you need is a mobile device or computer (no appointment necessary). Virtual visits are best for minor health issues, such as a cold or sore throat. How to use it:
- If you’re a UnitedHealthcare members, sign up by logging in to myuhc [dot] com. Download the UHC app (App Store | Google Play).
- If you’re a Kaiser Permanente member, view Kaiser’s video visit information.”
Well, that’s a wrap on PayPal’s stack and it was a fun one.
Some of these stacks are easier to figure out than others (so no promises), but let me know which company’s digital health benefits you’d like to learn more about by hitting reply to this email. If you happen to work at a Fortune 500 company (and I know that’s a lot of you), then please send me your benefits information.
Links to E&O’s reports, databases, newsletters
Click below for dedicated pages for each of those categories:
- Read through the long-form E&O research reports here.
- Search and sort the E&O databases here.
- Skim more than 180 past issues of E&O newsletters here.
