Mount Laurel-based Array Behavioral Care said it recently closed its latest equity round to further scale modern behavioral health care, with CVS Health leading the round with a $25 million investment. Existing investors also joined the round and contributed additional capital.
Array Behavioral Care has provided telepsychiatry services for more than 20 years. The practice offers virtual behavioral health care services nationwide in hospitals, community clinics, primary care offices and patient homes. It is a part of the Aetna network of providers. CVS bought health insurer Aetna in 2018.
The financing builds upon a long history between Array and CVS Health and opens doors to new levels of collaboration to expand access to high-quality behavioral care.
“Array has consistently been a strong mental health care provider within Aetna’s network,” Cara McNulty, president of behavioral health and mental well-being for CVS Health, said. “As CVS Health drives more innovation into care delivery, we look forward to working with Array to enhance access that complements our existing services in new ways.”
With CVS Health as a new investor, Array will scale faster to provide further access to quality, timely behavioral care in new and existing markets through enhanced service offerings and operations, innovative technology and expansion of the practice team.
“The Array team’s experience with telepsychiatry spans more than two decades, and, during this time, we’ve been at the forefront of creating, implementing and evolving virtualized mental health programs across the continuum of care. From our first telepsychiatry encounter in a rural hospital in 1999 to caring for patients online from their homes today, we’ve stayed true to our mission to meet patients where they are regardless of acuity level or setting to deliver the behavioral health care they deserve,” Geoffrey Boyce, co-founder and CEO of Array, said. “As we continue to lead the charge in transforming access to modern behavioral health care, we’re proud to do it with our existing partners and CVS Health.”
An estimated 150 million Americans, or 40% of the population, live in federally designated mental health professional shortage areas. According to research by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, only 27.7% of the national need for mental health professionals is actively being met. This scarcity of mental health professionals prevents patients from receiving the care they need, resulting in adverse health outcomes. The virtual care model allows for a more equitable distribution of clinical resources, particularly in rural and underserved communities, helping to remove barriers that limit patient access and increasing collaboration between mental and physical health clinicians.
“Our practice has always focused on helping provide patients the care they need, when and where they need it, without sacrificing quality,” Dr. James Varrell, co-founder and executive chief medical officer of Array, said. “It’s clear that telebehavioral care is one of the most meaningful ways to address the clinician shortage and mental health crisis. As our practice broadens its reach, our patients and partners can rest assured in knowing that we lead with quality and clinical excellence first and foremost.”
Virtual solutions can also benefit psychiatrists, therapists and other clinicians who can often be burdened with excessive administrative work that detracts from time that could be spent providing direct patient care.
CVS Health joins other industry leaders and early investors in Array Behavioral Care, including Wells Fargo Strategic Capital, Health Velocity Capital, Harbour Point Capital, HLM Venture Partners, OCA Ventures and OSF Healthcare.
Wells Fargo served as Array’s adviser on the transaction with a team led by Puneet Chandhok.
