Teladoc Health is continuing its pivot to accept insurance coverage, but the platform will remain a direct-to-consumer product for the foreseeable future, according to CEO Chuck Divita.
The company reported its third-quarter earnings Oct. 30. The company reported $250 million in revenue in the third quarter in its BetterHelp segment, down 11% from the same time period last year.
BetterHelp had 398,000 paying users in the third quarter, down 13% from the same time period last year.
In July, Teladoc executives said they planned to focus on acquiring international users and contracting with insurers. In the second quarter, Teladoc reported an $837.7 million loss in the second quarter of 2024, including a $790 million impairment charge related to BetterHelp.
Teladoc acquired BetterHelp, a direct-to-consumer virtual telehealth platform, in 2015.
On an Oct. 30 call with investors, transcribed by SeekingAlpha, Teladoc CEO Chuck Divita said the company is progressing on internal capabilities to accept insurance, and has started discussions with some health plans.
Though work is underway, Mr. Divita said BetterHelp will primarily remain a direct-to-consumer model.
"It's a consumer driven model. It's where their strengths are. It's where a great business has been created there. So that is going to be the main focus here," Mr. Divita said. "What we're trying to do is explore — of those consumers that are wanting to engage with BetterHelp and want to access benefit coverage, how do we most effectively do that?