Amid the growing digital health ecosystem, Collective Health is making it easier for employers to manage their various offerings through its new Premier Partnership Program.

The program brings together some of the leading digital health companies to help employers curate, integrate, measure impact and drive engagement with their virtual offerings.

Specifically, Collective Health will give support in identifying the best fitting digital health platforms for each employee population, calculate return on investments, judge clinical outcomes and offer recommendations based on user data.

At launch, the Premier Partner Program includes behavioral health startups Ginger, Lyra Health and Modern Health; cancer startup AccessHope; chronic condition management company Livongo; family planning startups Carrot Fertility and Progyny; musculoskeletal startup Hinge Health; and telehealth primary care providers 98point6 and Teladoc Health.

Collective Health says it will continue adding clinical categories and new startups in the future. The Premier Partner Program is set to launch for benefits plans starting in January 2022.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Like much of the past year and a half, digital health is in a period of unprecedented change. What was once a niche market segment has now become an integral part of healthcare delivery.

As proof, during the first half of 2021 digital health companies scored more funding ($14.7 billion) than in the entirety of last year ($14.6 billion), according to Rock Health. The market is also experiencing a wave of public exits, with an estimated 22 digital health companies going public this year.

Digital health acceleration shows no sign of slowing down, as 81% of healthcare executives say the pace of digital transformation for their organization is increasing, and 93% report that they are innovating with a sense of urgency and call to action this year, according to Accenture. 

Collective Health hopes to capitalize on the moment to help both employers and their workers navigate their options.

“With the acceleration of digital and virtual health solutions Collective Health is uniquely positioned to enable the change agents of the industry to have greater impact,” Lance Larsen, head of digital health partnerships at Collective Health said in a statement.

“The Premier Partner Program will provide depth of curation, measurement, and engagement in ways that not only help employers select the right solutions, but can guide employees toward healthier lives and companies toward healthier bottom lines.”

THE LARGER TREND

Earlier this year, Collective Health scored $280 million in Series F funding, bringing its total amount raised to $1.5 billion.

Other startups offering benefits navigation and management services include Nayya, which raised $37 million in a Series B funding round last month, Vericred, which closed a $23 million Series B funding round in April and Eden Health, which recently released a vaccine record-sharing offering for employers.