The Exec: Examining the 'Exciting and Complex' Financial Strategy of an All-Virtual Care Organization

The CFO of Brightside Health talks financial strategy amid a telehealth boom.

CFOs know that COVID-19 changed the game completely—not only from a financial lens but from a strategy perspective as well.

Traditionally, there has been hesitance to adopt telehealth due to reimbursement issues. Reimbursement is still a hinderance, especially with the pandemic waivers expiring and some payers reluctant to expand coverage, but the curtain has been lifting and the barrier to access is shrinking.

Now, it’s not uncommon for organizations to implement a virtual care road map across the care continuum as a lower-cost, more productive option for care delivery. As strategy shifts, we are seeing the creation of more orginizations that specialize in 100% virtual care.

From a cost perspective it can seem like a no-brainer, but without a mature telehealth strategy, the implementation of a 100% telehealth service may encounter resistance from all corners—IT, billing, clinical teams, and even patients. On top of this, the numerous downstream consequences for failing to financially plan are vast.

Chris Murray, the new CFO at Brightside Health—a completely virtual, mental health provider organization, is well aware of the risks, but a solid telehealth understanding and financial strategy is the key to success, Murray says.

Murray recently chatted with HealthLeaders about the organization’s financial strategy along with the three main differences he sees between the financial strategy of a completely virtual provider organization versus that of a brick-and-mortar provider.

HealthLeaders: You have over 15 years’ experience in roles across finance, operations, and go-to-market functions at healthcare and technology companies, so what drew you to the CFO role for Brightside Health?

Murray: The current spotlight on mental healthcare is critical, especially as one in five Americans live with some form of mental illness. Like many of us, mental health issues have touched my family personally. My passion for changing the way the healthcare industry evolves to meaningfully support people living with severe depression and anxiety aligns with the mission of Brightside Health to deliver life-changing mental health care to everyone who needs it.

I’ve been in the CFO role at Brightside Health for a few months now, and I truly believe our solutions are changing people’s lives for the better. I am excited to see what the future holds for Brightside Health and how I can help grow the business.

HealthLeaders: What direction do you plan to take Brightside’s financial strategy?

Murray: The financial strategy for Brightside Health is exciting and complex. Because we work with many different markets, there’s opportunity to grow the revenue stream in a variety of ways. We’re driving momentum in the commercial market among payers, providers, and even employee assistance programs and are exploring other avenues such as Medicare and Medicaid, while still serving consumers directly. We know each stakeholder presents a unique opportunity and plan to examine how their differentiators fit into our broader mission and vision, while also addressing their financial objectives.

HealthLeaders: 100% virtual care is a relatively new concept, so how do you plan to drive growth and strategic initiatives?

Murray: An important role of a CFO is to build an infrastructure that supports the efforts of our product and technology teams. To do this we need robust performance tracking in place to ensure we’re monitoring progress against our objectives and putting numbers and structure to our challenges and successes. My team and I will also continue to analyze where there’s whitespace in the competitive landscape, working to identify areas that are primed for innovation that Brightside Health can play a key role in.

HealthLeaders: How does building a financial strategy for a digital-first mental healthcare provider differ from building a plan for a hospital or health system?

Murray: There are three differences that come to mind when thinking about our financial strategy versus that of a brick-and-mortar provider.

The first is the difference in compliance and legal requirements. As a mental healthcare provider, we must think about state-by-state licensing for our therapists (in all 50 states plus D.C.) whereas health systems typically work in one or a handful of states and don’t need to be mindful of local laws and regulations.

The second is infrastructure. We don’t have brick-and-mortar costs, which means much less overhead and ultimately allows us to treat more patients.

Third are the marketing costs–essentially how we reach people and how people can find us virtually. Traditionally, this isn’t something that a hospital or health system has to think about as there’s already awareness of the physical location (and often less options within the community to select from). Building brand awareness and ensuring our key differentiators are well known in the industry and among potential patients is a critical function of our business and something we are implementing in a meaningful way.

HealthLeaders: From a financial perspective, what do you see for the future of telehealth over the next few years?

Murray: The industry has no doubt been accelerated by the pandemic, and telehealth has proven to be a viable solution that will continue to be the future of healthcare. Traditionally, there has been hesitance to adopt telehealth due to reimbursement issues, but since the pandemic, the curtain has been lifted and the barrier to access has been removed. We’ve seen patients express the desire and interest to stick with telehealth, especially for behavioral healthcare. I think we’ll see increased demand across the industry to adapt and implement more telehealth solutions into platforms because that friction no longer exists.