As a father of three kids in Colorado, Paul Graf, founder and CEO of Healthy Young Minds, understands how difficult it is to find mental health care for children. His oldest has autism, and the family struggled to find the care they needed while living in a therapy desert.
That’s why about six years ago, he put his career as an investor on hold to start a pediatric mental health clinic in his Colorado community called Vail Mind Center. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, he learned something: the vast majority of the clinic’s patients thrived while receiving care virtually.
“I was like, ‘My gosh, if we can have this kind of impact virtually, I can do much more than just what we’re doing here in our county,’” he said in an interview.
So three years ago, Graf founded Healthy Young Minds, an online youth mental health company. This month, the company was crowned winner of MedCity News’ INVEST Pitch Perfect contest focused on pediatric mental health. A total of six companies participated in the contest.
The Denver-based startup treats children for a range of needs, including autism, anxiety and depression. Patients start with an evaluation to get matched with the right services and therapists. They’ll then start their teletherapy sessions on a schedule that works for them. Healthy Young Minds’ services include testing and diagnosing, psychology, art therapy, music therapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy.
The company currently operates in six states: California, Colorado, Ohio, Florida, Texas and Georgia. It works with both Medicaid and commercial insurance plans and has about 35 million lives under contract.
There are several other companies addressing youth behavioral health — such as Brightline. However, a major differentiator for Healthy Young Minds compared to others in the space is the fact that it accepts Medicaid, Graf declared. And the need is there: The Medicaid program covers about 27 million children in the U.S., yet many are unable to receive mental health support.
“It’s our goal and plan to be the leading Medicaid provider for kids across the country. And there’s very little competition out there right now,” Graf said. “I expect that to change as we grow and demonstrate the viability of serving Medicaid, and it’s very rewarding. So many of the folks out there that are working towards serving children, they don’t take insurance at all, or they take commercial insurance. It’s the exception if anyone’s out there taking Medicaid. There’s a lot of competition out there to serve kids. When I look at what I think is so exciting about Healthy Young Minds, it’s that we have a model that is focused on serving the most underserved and the most needy in the country.”
The startup has raised some funds as well. So far, Healthy Young Minds has secured $6 million (with Graf contributing about half), and it is currently in the process of raising its Series A round. This funding will go toward building its team, hiring more clinicians, developing its technology, expanding to new states, and establishing more partnerships, particularly with health systems.
Looking ahead, the company is focused on engaging with as many Medicaid plans as possible while “retaining the absolute highest quality care,” Graf said.
