What You Should Know:
– Birches Health, a national provider of gambling addiction treatment, has announced it has raised $20M in combined Series A and Seed funding.
– The Series A was led by AlleyCorp and the Seed was led by General Catalyst, with additional participation from a number of other investors.
– The funding will be used to accelerate investments in clinical excellence, expand its provider network, and scale its infrastructure to meet the growing demand for specialized clinical treatment. In addition to gambling addiction, Birches Health also treats video gaming, sex, pornography, and internet addictions through virtual care.
Growing Gambling Addiction Crisis
According to a recent American Psychiatric Association poll, 28% of American adults have a daily habit of gambling online. Individuals struggling with behavioral addictions have historically faced fragmented access to care, compounded by geographical and financial barriers. Over the past two years, Birches Health has built the largest network of specialized clinicians and partnered with hundreds of insurance plans to increase access to this care from the comfort of home.
Dr. Martin Rosenzweig, a former Chief Medical Officer at Optum and a Birches Health board member, stated that gambling addiction is often seen as a personal or financial failing, rather than a behavioral addiction. He said that Birches Health has developed a “much needed evidence-based clinical solution with a unique program acuity matched to the needs of the individual in the comfort of their home offering a viable path to recovery”.
Evidence-Based Solution to Battling Gambling Addiction
The company’s virtual care program is available in all 50 states and is covered by major national insurance plans, including United Healthcare, Cigna, Aetna, and many Blue Cross Blue Shield plans. The clinical program is tailored to the individual’s needs and includes individual, family, couples, and group therapy. These sessions are supported by a digital engagement platform with resilience and recovery programming from individuals with lived experience.
“The United States is facing a looming gambling addiction crisis,” said Elliott Rapaport, founder and CEO of Birches Health. “By integrating with leading insurance companies and state Departments of Health, we are proving that access to specialized care for those struggling with gambling, gaming, sex, pornography, and internet addiction should be available to all.”
