After launching a collaboration in 2023 to provide virtual opioid use disorder support to those transitioning out of prisons, Bicycle Health, Wellpath and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) have signed an additional one-year contract with the option to extend another two years.
Boston-based Bicycle Health is a virtual provider of opioid use disorder, while Nashville, Tennessee-based Wellpath is a medical and mental health provider that serves vulnerable patients, including those who are in prisons and jails.
Through the collaboration, Wellpath works with FBOP’s residential reentry centers and can refer those struggling with opioid use disorder to Bicycle Health. Residential reentry centers help people transition back into society after incarceration.
“This new contract underscores the impact of this program for recently released adults in custody,” said Wendy Dunegan, vice president of Wellpath, in a statement. “We’ll now be able to offer Bicycle Health’s virtual MOUD care model to this patient population nationwide, expanding access to innovative, results-driven care for a population very familiar with the dangerous effects of opioid use – and the challenging path toward recovery.”
Bicycle’s services include therapy, peer support groups and medications for opioid use disorder, which can help with withdrawal symptoms, prevent overdose and support long-term recovery. The company also has specialized care coordinators who are trained to work with those leaving incarceration and only work with Wellpath patients.
This kind of support is especially vital for those leaving incarceration, according to Ankit Gupta, Bicycle Health CEO & founder. About one in five adults in custody battle an opioid use disorder, and the leading cause of death for those reentering society is opioid overdose.
“As patients transition from custody into community placements like Residential Reentry Centers and then, eventually, back into society independently, they are at a heightened risk of relapse, overdose, and recidivism,” he said in an email. “Enabling these patients to receive care via a virtual treatment program like Bicycle Health’s helps reduce these risks while increasing their access to care that is flexible enough to follow them throughout the different stages of their release.”
Bicycle Health and Wellpath are already having an impact. Since they began working with this population in 2023, they’ve supported 2,640 patients living in 139 residential reentry centers in 45 states.
Gupta added that through this collaboration, he hopes to show how “virtual [opioid use disorder] treatment providers like Bicycle Health improve access to care for patients in the criminal justice system, while serving as a blueprint for future virtual OUD treatment programs that bridge gaps in care for more adults in custody across the U.S.”
Another company that provides virtual opioid use disorder support to those reentering society after incarceration is Boulder Care, though this company focuses on Washington, Oregon and Ohio, while Bicycle Health serves people nationally.
Photo: mikdam, Getty Images
