Livongo Acquires myStrength to Address Behavioral Health Needs

Livongo Health, an Applied Health Signals company empowering people with chronic conditions to live better and healthier lives, announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Denver-based myStrength Inc., a provider of digital behavioral health solutions. The acquisition will enable Livongo to more fully address the health of the whole person by bringing 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.
 
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 addition 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. myStrength’s behavioral health solution uses evidence-based interventions including cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, positive psychology, mindfulness, and motivational interviewing to help individuals resolve clinical conditions, build resiliency, manage stress, improve mood, sleep better, or simply find daily inspiration.
 
“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 deliver 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 month¹. myStrength demonstrated that 74 percent of engaged individuals experience improvement in depression scores² and that the program delivered a 4.8x ROI³ (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.”
 
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.
 
“Our regional health plans currently partner with Livongo to provide diabetes management services to our members, as we have explored ways to provide our members a new experience in managing their chronic conditions. Managing behavioral health and chronic conditions will now allow us to better address the health of the whole person,” said Dr. Cheryl Pegus, M.D., M.P.H., Senior Vice President, Health Care Services and Chief Medical Officer at Cambia Health Solutions. Cambia Health Solutions reaches more than 70 million Americans nationwide, including more than two million people in the Pacific Northwest who are enrolled in its regional health plans.
 
“The relationship between behavioral health issues and chronic conditions is well-documented. Combining with myStrength provides an opportunity to offer behavioral health solutions to our members and to leverage our AI+AI engine to bring member focused personalization to digital behavioral health at scale,” said Dr. Jennifer Schneider, M.D., M.S., President of Livongo. “As we aggregate, interpret, apply, and iterate health signals to increase personalization, we will improve clinical outcomes, enabling a truly innovative behavioral solution fueled by a flywheel of continuous improvement for a better member experience. This will be truly impactful for people with behavioral health issues.”
 
Livongo also announced the addition of two key individuals in the data science and behavioral health space to support the new expansion into behavioral health. Anmol Madan, formerly Chief Executive Officer of Ginger.io, is joining Livongo as its Chief Data Officer and Dr. Julia Hoffman, formerly the National Director of Mental Health Services for the Department of Veterans Affairs and Lyra Health, is joining Livongo as Vice President of Behavioral Health Strategy. The addition of these experts adds to one of the strongest, most experienced leadership teams in the digital health industry. Livongo now employs approximately 500 people, with offices in Mountain View, San Francisco, and Chicago. The Company also noted that the Denver area represents an attractive market for technical talent and expects to expand hiring in that area.
 
References
¹ Presentation at the 77th Annual American Diabetes Association’s Scientific Sessions.
² In a case study with 2 large commercial partners, 74 percent of users with severe depression improve by at least one severity category within 6 months.
³ Abhulimen, S. & Hirsch, A. (2018). Quantifying the Economic Impact of a Digital Self-Care Behavioral Health Platform on Missouri Medicaid Expenditures. Journal of Medical Economics, DOI: 10.1080/13696998.2018.1510834.