Enthea, the healthcare provider that specializes in psychedelic therapy, announced on Tuesday that it will “launch its services into 40 markets across the U.S. next year as well as grow Enthea’s customer base and provider network to further its mission of providing affordability and access to safe and effective psychedelic-assisted therapies for all who can benefit.”
The ambitious launch is the byproduct of a “successful $2M seed round raise, led by Tabula Rasa Ventures, the first psychedelic accelerator for early-stage startups,” the company said in the announcement.
Enthea says that the driving force behind the new endeavor is to improve access to potentially breakthrough psychedelic treatment amid an ever-spiraling mental health crisis in the United States.
The company asserts that it is “helping in this mental health crisis by bringing employer funding for these new treatments,” saying that “traditional health insurers are years away from adding this coverage, the cost to patients prohibits widespread adoption.”
“Through the creation of the country’s first psychedelic healthcare provider network, Enthea is taking a big step in creating access to these new, evidence-based healing options,” Sherry Rais, the chief executive officer and co-founder of Enthea, said in a statement on Tuesday. “And as a workplace benefit, this treatment becomes affordable. Next year, most employers across the U.S will be able to offer these innovative treatments, covered under insurance, for the first time.”
The newly announced project has been years in the making. Enthea said in the press release on Tuesday that it has “spent last two years building the infrastructure needed to scale and bring this concept to market,” and that next month, “it will launch its services in New York City, Austin, and the Bay Area with the goal of opening in 20 top U.S. cities by mid-2023, and another 20 by the end of 2023.”
The company said that in order to “create this offering of psychedelic therapy as a workplace benefit … [it] developed several core competencies”:
- Evidence-based medical policies for psychedelic therapies that are regularly updated based on clinical developments and FDA approvals.
- Standards of care and credentials across the Enthea Provider Network to assure quality, positive patient experiences, and positive treatment outcomes.
- Easy treatment authorization and reimbursements to providers, while shielding employers from Protected Health Information.
- A range of customizable options based on the company’s business and personnel needs.
Enthea describes itself as “a licensed provider of health insurance benefits to cover psychedelic-assisted psychotherapies (PAP),” dedicated to providing “safe and affordable access to these innovative, effective treatments.”
Earlier this year, the company announced that it is partnering with Dr. Bronner’s to make the soap manufacturer “the first employer to add ketamine-assisted psychotherapy to its existing health insurance plans.”
“Many members of the All-One family at Dr. Bronner’s who have been struggling with mental health challenges have availed themselves of ketamine-assisted therapy, and have relayed their deep heartfelt thanks for the incredible healing impact it has made,” said David Bronner, CEO of Dr. Bronner’s. “Enthea makes the experience seamless for our staff as well as on our side, and I can’t recommend them highly enough. May all who are in need benefit from this healing medicine and therapy!”
Bronner is an outspoken champion of psychedelic therapy. In the press release this week, Enthea said that the two companies “have a shared belief that psychedelic-assisted therapies should be accepted into the standard of healthcare and have significant potential to heal as well as improve quality of life.”
“Let’s face it, the world would be a far better place if more people experienced psychedelic medicines,” Bronner told The New York Times.