Virtual primary care provider K Health is looking to the mental health space with the acquisition of Trusst, a behavioral health app that connects users to on-demand, text-based therapy. 

Clients are able to download Trusst’s app and fill in the state that they are seeking care in. Next, customers can fill out a profile about the type of care they are seeking and fill in payment information. The service is then able to connect a customer with therapists licensed in their state through text messaging.

The app works on a subscription model. Users are charged $55 a week or $199 a month to use the service. Subscribers are able to message a clinician Monday through Friday and get a response within 24 hours. 

K Health works in the primary care space. Its services combine a free symptom checker with text-based telehealth and virtual care. The company uses an artificial intelligence service to help guide users through their health concerns. Users are able to tap into a live doctor through a paid service. Patients can access the services one time or through a subscription service. 

WHY IT MATTERS 

The new M&A expands K Health’s capabilities to include more mental health services. K Health plans to roll Trusst’s services into its offerings. Currently K Health offers anxiety and depression treatment plans for $12 a month. 

“People need therapists all day, every day, not just at their scheduled appointment time,” said Bill Hudenko, Ph.D., the former CEO of Trusst and now Global Head of Mental Health at K Health. “Together with K Health, we’ll be able to offer millions of people access to a therapist right in their pocket. Our text-based platform will merge mental health support and premium interactive content with the 24/7 personalized, high quality primary care service that K Health already provides.”

K Health is pitching expanding mental health services as a way to help supplement the shortage of mental health providers. 

THE LARGER TREND 

In January, K Health announced a $132 million Series C funding round. At the time of the news, K Health announced the launch of K for Parents, a pediatric care offering. The company currently has over $271 million in investments. 

In April, K Health teamed up with Blackstone Growth and Anthem to launch a new joint venture focused on making healthcare more affordable. The new venture, dubbed Hydrogen Health, uses K Health’s AI technology to build healthcare products for the employer and consumer market. 

The digital mental health space is hot. In fact, Rock Health reported that in the first half of 2021 the digital mental health space raked in $1.5 billion, making it the number one clinical focus for digital health investments.