YourCoach.Health, a practice management platform for health and wellness coaches, is taking its services corporate by launching an employee-centric version of its platform.

The company is now partnering with employer organizations to provide health and wellness coaching to workers.

Using its patent-pending algorithms and a YourCoach concierge, the company pairs each employee with a health coach who helps them meet their specific health goals. YourCoach’s concierges stick with employees throughout their journey to monitor progress and ensure that the health coach is a good match.

The platform’s health coaches, many of whom are certified by the National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching, range in specialties from nutrition to aging and more. They provide their matched employees with personalized programs that include tasks such as drinking enough water throughout the day or reminders to go to bed at a reasonable time.

YourCoach health coaches can also assign digital health interventions like Happitech and HealthTunes as an add-on to users’ programs.

In addition to its move into the employer space, YourCoach also announced a new gamified pricing model for its health coaches. The more health coaches use the platform, and the more clients they add to their practice, the lower the subscription fee. A subscription starts at $40 a month for health coaches, but can be reduced to $10 a month over time.

"We're confident that this new pricing model will support our coaches in building their skills, increase the availability of health coaches for individual clients and employer partners on our platform and motivate coaches to succeed," Marina Borukhovich, the CEO of YourCoach.Health, said in a statement.

"We're cultivating a community of coaches who have demonstrated a dedication to their craft and are excited to provide them with even more opportunities to connect with clients through our new employer offering."

WHY THIS MATTERS

Employers are increasingly offering health and wellness programs to reduce healthcare costs and improve employee health. In fact, among large employers who offered health benefits in 2019, 84% also offered wellness programs, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

"Health coaches are increasingly occupying a critical role in the health care system that helps clients stay on track for their health goals where meaningful change takes place – beyond the doctor's office," Borukhovich said.

"It's been our mission to deliver the power of health coaching to the global population and this is a huge step towards achieving that goal."

The actual effectiveness of these programs is mixed, however. According to research from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, employer-sponsored health and wellness programs improved employees’ own beliefs about their health and increased the proportion of employees with primary care physicians, but did not affect employee biometrics, medical diagnoses, or medical use after 24 months.

THE LARGER TREND

Especially during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, employee health has been top of mind for companies. As such, many digital health companies are adapting their services for the employer market.

Collective Health, which brought in $280 million in new funding earlier this month, brings together companies’ various health benefits into one platform to let employers manage their offerings while assisting employees to navigate their healthcare.

Eden Health, a direct-to-employer health provider that offers virtual and in-person care and insurance navigation, now lets employees share their vaccine status with their employer through its platform.

Meru Health also offers employee health coaching through a new program aimed at helping workers dealing with mild depression or anxiety symptoms.

Last month, health navigation and concierge platform Firefly Health raised $40 million in Series B funding to grow into the employer-sponsored market with the launch of its health plan offering.