Headway Expands to Medicare Advantage and Medicaid, Leveraging New Funding

Today marks a key step toward realizing our mission to build a new mental healthcare system that everyone can access.

We’re proud to announce our expansion to Medicare Advantage and Medicaid, leveraging our recent $100 million Series D funding. This means opening the door to great care for millions more people in need.

Widening access to mental health care

Medicare Advantage and Medicaid cover more than 100 million Americans, who often experience higher rates of need, yet face additional barriers to care. A report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services shows that despite a profound need among those living with mental illness (one in three Medicaid beneficiaries and one in four Medicare beneficiaries), access remains a problem due to a dire shortage of mental health providers.

Clinicians on Headway’s platform are eager to fill these gaps; in a 2023 internal survey of more than 1,000 providers, a majority reported that the number one reason they took insurance was to “provide access to care for those that may not be able to afford private pay services.”

“Headway has made working with Medicare easier for me through enrollment, onboarding and navigating compliance expectations. I can truly say that I would not be accepting Medicare clients without Headway,” said Andre Maxie, LMFT, an early adopter of Headway’s Medicare Advantage expansion. “Accepting Medicare is important to me because it allows me to reach a population that has been historically underserved.”

Headway has begun working with Medicare Advantage plans in certain states, with thousands of clinicians already participating. We expect to be live with Medicare Advantage in 51 markets by the end of the year, and plan to launch with Medicaid in 2025.

Enabling providers to focus on delivering much-needed care

Headway streamlines credentialing, onboarding, clinical training, scheduling, billing, and more, making it easy for mental health clinicians to accept patients through insurance. Since launching in 2019, we have scaled our platform with commercial insurance, and are in-network today with more than 40 commercial health plans across 50 states and the District of Columbia.

As a direct result of Headway’s most recent funding, providers on the platform can expect:

• More clients to reach. Accepting these plans will make it possible for millions more Americans to access care through Headway.

• Simplified credentialing and compliance. Medicare and Medicaid plans have complex credentialing processes and compliance requirements. This funding will help us build tools and products that expedite credentialing timelines and make compliance requirements simpler than ever to meet, enabling providers to continue delivering great care with clinical autonomy.

• A more profitable practice. Headway aims to be both the easiest and most profitable way for providers to work with insurance, and we’re continuously exploring new ways to unlock better rates.

A message from our Founder & CEO

Headway is making wider access possible — but it’s our community of clinicians who will make it a reality. Headway Founder & CEO Andrew Adams shared the following message with providers to mark this momentous milestone: