Florida Blue is expanding its partnership with Teladoc to add Livongo's virtual diabetes solution for its members.
It's the first health plan to sign on for the integrated technology platform as a result of Teladoc's proposed $18.5 billion acquisition of Livongo, a company that provides diabetes monitoring and remote monitoring.
Florida Blue, a subsidiary of GuideWell Mutual Holding Corp. and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield plan of Florida, currently offers Teladoc Health’s virtual care program to its members and will expand its virtual services to provide access to Livongo for Diabetes to select members, the company said.
As Teladoc and Livongo are working to integrate their businesses, the GuideWell partnership represents the first commercial cross-selling agreement since the announced merger, Teladoc CEO Jaon Gorevic said during the HLTH 2020 virtual conference Monday.
"Our clients are looking for a single integrated solution that brings all the assets of the two companies together. Our clients want the ability to offer episodic care, complex care and chronic care, all through one interface, one digital 'front door,'" he said.
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GuideWell and Livongo plan to provide access to Livongo for Diabetes through GuideWell’s consumer engagement solution, Onlife Health, which helps guide health plan members through their healthcare journey.
“Offering tools and resources that improve access to care during the COVID-19 pandemic is critical,” said Pat Geraghty, president and CEO of GuideWell and Florida Blue, in a statement .
"Beyond the pandemic, the expectations of the consumer experience and care delivery will be forever changed. With Teladoc Health, we have experienced the clear benefits of virtual care and through a new partnership with Livongo, we are excited to offer additional resources for diabetes management that provides the tools for members to manage their health on their terms," he said.
In August, Teladoc announced it was acquiring Livongo. The combination of two of the largest publicly traded virtual care companies will create a health technology giant just as the demand for virtual care soars.
The two companies combined are said to be worth about $37 billion, according to Piper Sandler.
Both companies are seeing record growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the combined company is expected to reach $1.3 billion in revenue in 2020, according to Teladoc CEO Jason Gorevic.
Teladoc Health and Livongo will offer select Florida Blue members living with diabetes an end-to-end virtual care experience including connected devices, advanced data science and telehealth, the companies said.
By integrating Teladoc Health’s virtual care platform with Livongo’s capabilities to aggregate data and provide insights to plan members in real time, Florida Blue will become one of the first health plans in the nation to provide health consumers a single access point for whole-person care regardless of clinical situation, driving better health outcomes and lowering costs, Livongo officials said.
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Livongo leveraged its recently signed reseller agreement with Teladoc Health to accelerate the partnership with Florida Blue, according to Glen Tullman, Livongo founder and executive chairman, who spoke during Monday's HLTH panel.
The partnership allows Florida Blue to offer much-needed services to its most vulnerable populations, including 50,000 members living with diabetes.
"This is a great example of how we can combine technology with the empathy so critical to a great health and care experience that meets people where they are and wherever they are," Tullman said.
He added, "This is the first example of why this merger makes so much sense. And there is a lot of interest, a lot of 'takers.'"
By combining the companies' capabilities, a Teladoc physician can recommend the Livongo solution to a patient who is trying to manage diabetes. At the same time, a Livongo members' longitudinal data, such as blood glucose data, can be shared with physicians using Teladoc for virtual care visits, Gorevic said.
As of August, Livongo has more than 1,300 clients, including over 30% of Fortune 500 companies, four of the top seven health plans, health systems, government organizations and labor unions.