Livongo Health, an Applied Health Signals company empowering people with chronic conditions to live better and healthier lives, today announced that it has acquired Denver-based myStrength, Inc., a provider of digital behavioral health solutions. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
The acquisition enables Livongo to more fully address the health of the whole person by integrating behavioral health conditions including depression, anxiety, stress, substance use disorder, chronic pain, opioid addiction and recovery, and insomnia to Livongo’s Applied Health Signals solution. myStrength currently partners with over 130 of the largest health plans and health systems in the country including Medicaid funded community healthcare organizations across 32 states.
Founded in 2011, myStrength greatly enhances traditional care models, while addressing issues of cost, lack of access, and stigma, to deliver mental health and well-being resources at scale. The digital behavioral health platform targets the most prevalent and costly behavioral health conditions ─ empowering consumers with innovative self-care resources to manage and overcome challenges with depression, anxiety, stress, substance use disorder, chronic pain, and sleep.
myStrength’s evidence-based resources offer digital interactive exercises, self-care modules and daily wellness inspiration, which is personalized to each user. myStrength collaborates with more than 100 health plans, integrated health systems, EAPs, disease management providers, managed and community behavioral health providers, strategic alliances, ACOs and FQHCs.
Acquisition Benefits
Approximately 135 million Americans suffer from at least one chronic condition and 20 percent of adults are also dealing with a behavioral health issue. The acquisition supports Livongo’s focus on rapid market growth, continued investment in data science, deeper integration with clients and partners, and the development of a comprehensive consumer offering to address the health needs of the whole person.
The integration of myStrength will allow Livongo members to seamlessly manage their chronic conditions and behavioral health on one platform with a clinical grade solution that is at the same time focused on the typical health consumer.
“The acquisition of myStrength represents Livongo’s first strategic investment to address the full range of behavioral health issues on one platform. We did an extensive evaluation of the digital behavioral health landscape and myStrength was clearly the best provider in the space, based on provable effectiveness, traction, customer base, and user satisfaction. The breadth of behavioral health solutions that myStrength offers will allow Livongo to take an integrated approach to tackle these conditions while helping people living with or at risk for chronic conditions” said Glen Tullman, Executive Chairman of Livongo. “We are excited to welcome the myStrength team to the Livongo family and to combine our capabilities to better serve our members and rapidly growing client base of self-insured employers, health plans, health systems, and pharmacy benefit managers.”
Both organizations have delivered proven solutions that improve clinical outcomes and reduce overall healthcare spending. Separate studies demonstrated that people enrolled in the Livongo for Diabetes program experienced a meaningful reduction in blood sugar and that the program saved $83 dollars per participant per month. myStrength demonstrated that 74% of engaged individuals experience improvement in depression scores and that the program delivered a 4.8x ROI (return on investment).
“Simply put, myStrength and Livongo are a great fit. We share a commitment to providing solutions that address multiple conditions and deliver measurable outcomes, and we are like-minded when it comes to mission, values, and culture,” said Scott Cousino, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of myStrength, who will join Livongo along with all of myStrength’s employees. “This move will now allow us to focus on both the physical and behavioral health of our members and strengthens our ability to bring our clients a broader, more personalized offering.”
