Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Login
  • My Account
  • Logout
  • Register For Free
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Blogs
    • AI
    • Deals
    • Layoff Tracker
    • HLTH 2024
    • Sponsored Content: Vital Signs Blog
  • Opinion
    • Letters
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • 40 Under 40
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Innovators Awards
    • Diversity Leaders
    • Leading Women
    • Best in Business Awards
    • The 2030 Playbook Conference
    • Innovations in Patient Experience
    • Leading Women Conference & Awards Luncheon
    • Leadership Summit
    • Workforce Summit
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Diversity Leaders Gala
    • - Looking Ahead to 2025
    • - Financial Growth
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Looking Ahead to 2026
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
  • Data & Insights
    • Data & Insights Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Skilled Nursing Facilities
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
    • Sponsored Content
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Information Technology
December 09, 2021 03:28 PM

Hydrogen Health banks on texting, AI in crowded virtual care market

Nona Tepper
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    money increase
    iStock

    Digital health startup Hydrogen Health expects to double its user base by the end of 2022 to cover more than 10 million enrollees through new partnerships with health plans and employers.

    Hydrogen Health, the result of a recently inked joint venture between Anthem and private equity group Blackstone, is a tool that uses artificial intelligence to answer common consumer health questions and diagnose routine conditions via text. If necessary, Hydrogen Health connects members to one of its clinicians virtually or can schedule an in-person visit to one of its 400 affiliated Knowledge Health clinics across the U.S.

    The company claims to cut healthcare costs by up to 20% by helping members avoid costly emergency department visits, close gaps in primary care and cut the infrastructure associated with in-person services. Hydrogen Health is currently in beta testing with Anthem's fully-insured business to determine a more concrete return-on-investment for payers. It's also in the process of expanding to the insurer's self-funded customers, said Ran Shaul, chief product officer. So far, Anthem has seen a decrease in urgent care and emergency department visits, and higher satisfaction and utilization among enrollees compared with traditional plans.

    The new company essentially scaled K Health, an AI-based text service that offers more targeted information than "Dr. Google," Shaul said. Anthem, which operates Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in 14 states, started working with K Health in 2019 and integrated its algorithm into its Sydney consumer app.

    "People are basically riding the wave of virtual," Shaul said. "But if you think about it and you look very carefully at claims data you would see, 'same old same old.' Meaning, same doctor just using a Zoom. Nothing changed."

    By combining AI with 24/7 virtual visits, Hydrogen Health offers a more targeted tool that helps treat more complicated chronic conditions, like diabetes or offering primary care to cancer patients. Regional health plans and Fortune 500 employers are interested in using Hydrogen Health to power their entire virtual care offering, Shaul said.

    The company's method of virtual care delivery represents a departure from how payers and providers are currently offering digital care. Through the app, consumers generally start by texting the AI system their questions and can eventually be connected with a virtual primary care provider if needed, who is intended to serve as a replacement for an in-person clinician.

    Download Modern Healthcare’s app to stay informed when industry news breaks.

    The approach differs from companies like Firefly Health, which connects patients to clinicians through phone or audio visits for one-off non-emergency visits. Firefly leveraged its virtual-first provider services to launch a health plan for employers that want to bypass insurers earlier this year.

    MDLive, meanwhile, intends to use virtual care to complement in-person services and holds the expectation that consumers will form long-term relationships with their virtual providers. Cigna paid an undisclosed sum to acquire MDLive earlier this year and plans to market its virtual capabilities to smaller health plans.

    UnitedHealth Group, in contrast, recently announced that its homegrown Optum Virtual provider product went from having no covered lives at the start of this year to 14 million in network in 2022. The company's insurance arm, UnitedHealthcare, also recently unveiled a virtual-first plan called NavigateNOW, which combines the company's 60,000 Optum physicians for virtual care and leverages the insurer's physical network for any in-person needs.

    Centene and CVS' Aetna have contracted with Teladoc Health to launch their virtual-first plans for their customers. It is unclear how Teladoc providers will engage with these insurers' existing clinical networks.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    Racial disparity hospital
    Providers confront racial bias engrained in EHRs
    Judy_Faulkner_Epic_HIMSS17_edit_i.jpg
    Epic outlines what's ahead for patient portal, Cosmos
    Most Popular
    1
    Here are new state healthcare laws taking effect in 2025
    2
    Meet Modern Healthcare's 2025 Leading Women
    3
    New York-Presbyterian layoffs affect 2% of employees
    4
    Evernorth, Optum, CenterWell units buoyed insurers in Q1
    5
    Epic CEO Judy Faulkner on AI, antitrust and consolidation
    Sponsored Content
    Digital Health Intelligence Newsletter: Sign up to receive a twice-weekly (T, F) morning newsletter featuring the latest reporting on technologies, trends, players and money fueling the rapid changes in how healthcare is developed, paid for and delivered.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Help Center
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2025. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Blogs
      • AI
      • Deals
      • Layoff Tracker
      • HLTH 2024
      • Sponsored Content: Vital Signs Blog
    • Opinion
      • Letters
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • 40 Under 40
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Innovators Awards
        • Diversity Leaders
        • Leading Women
        • Best in Business Awards
      • Conferences
        • The 2030 Playbook Conference
        • Innovations in Patient Experience
        • Leading Women Conference & Awards Luncheon
        • Leadership Summit
        • Workforce Summit
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Diversity Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Looking Ahead to 2025
        • - Financial Growth
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Looking Ahead to 2026
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
      • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
    • Data & Insights
      • Data & Insights Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Skilled Nursing Facilities
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing
      • Sponsored Content