Teladoc Health

Teladoc was founded in 2002 in Dallas, Texas by G.Byron Brooks EE MD and Michael Gorton. Billing itself as the oldest telemedicine company in United States,[8] Teladoc's initial business model allowed patients to remotely consult with state-licensed doctors at any time.[13] Companies paid a monthly fee for their employees to access the service, while patients paid a flat fee for each consultation, originally about $35 to $40.[8] With Gorton as both chairman and CEO,[14] Teladoc launched nationally in 2005[8] at the Consumer Directed Health Care Conference in Chicago, Illinois.[14] Teladoc had around 1 million members by the end of 2007, with large employers such as AT&T[8] providing the service to employees as a health benefit.[15]

Jason Gorevic was named Teladoc's chief executive in 2009.[15] The company's initial private funding rounds raised $9 million in December 2009,[16] $4 million in January 2011,[17] and $18.6 million in September 2011.[18] That year, Aetna began offering Teladoc for its fully insured members in Florida and Texas, later offering Teladoc in all 50 states.[8] Teladoc acquired Consult A Doctor for $16.6 million cash in August 2013,[9] allowing smaller companies to access Teladoc's services. At the time, Teladoc completed 120,000 consults annually.[19] Teladoc raised $15 million in September 2013, with total funding at that point equaling $46.6 million.[19]

The Affordable Care Act led to a large number of insurance companies signing with Teladoc, resulting in a growth surge around 2014. By that time, insurance companies such as Blue Shield of California and Oscar had signed with Teladoc, as well as other companies such as Home Depot, T-Mobile, CalPERS,[6] and Rent-A-Center.[20] Teladoc acquired AmeriDoc for $17.2 million in May 2014.[9] The acquisitions of Consult A Doctor and AmeriDoc, both Teladoc's main competitors, resulted in Teladoc becoming the largest telemedicine provider in the United States. With 8 million individual patients,[6] Teladoc's doctors performed 299,000 consults that year.[9] Teladoc's sales doubled in both 2013 and 2014,[20] and Teladoc raised $50 million from private investors in September 2014,[21] bringing total funding to $100 million.[6]

Teladoc executives ring the NYSE bell

The company acquired BetterHelp in January 2015 for $3.5 million,[9] followed by Stat Health Services, Inc. (StatDoc) in June 2015 for $30 million.[22] After beginning the process that April,[23][24] Teladoc went public on the New York Stock Exchange on July 1, 2015.[25] The only telemedicine company on the NYSE,[8] Teladoc's initial public offering listed at $19 per share, giving the company a market capitalization of $758 million and an enterprise value of $620 million.[25] The initial response to the IPO was positive, as shares surged 50 percent on the opening day.[26][27] Three months after the IPO, health insurer Highmark, which represented 1.5% of Teladoc's 2015 revenue, ceased to renew a contract. Teladoc shares fell significantly as a result, before rising to earlier levels.[8]

Teladoc acquired the behavioral health services provider Compile Inc. in January 2015, followed by the competitor Stat Health Services Inc. in June 2015.[22] In 2016 Teladoc began aggressively expanding, acquiring other companies and launching health segments for dermatology, behavioral health, and sexual health. That year the company won a patent infringement lawsuit filed against competitor American Well.[8] In July 2016, Teladoc acquired HealthiestYou[9] for $45 million.[28] Teladoc had 15 million members by November 2016[8] and a market share of 75% in the United States.[13] It also operated its full service suite in 48 states, excluding Arkansas and Texas. In December 2016, the American Hospital Association exclusively endorsed Teladoc's telehealth technology platform.[8] Teladoc logged 952,000 patient visits that year.[29]

In its largest acquisition at the time,[10] in 2017 Teladoc spent $440 million purchasing Best Doctors, a medical consultation firm[30] and provider of medical second opinions and pay-to-play medical award listings.[10] On February 28, 2019, non-profit group ProPublica released a report critical of companies like subsidiary Best Doctors that sell physician awards, including "Best Doctors" awards.[31] Teladoc had 7,500 clients in 2017, of which 220 were Fortune 1000 companies.[32] Sales that year were $233 million, 89% higher than the year prior.[13]

As of July 2018, Teladoc Health brands included Teladoc, Advance Medical, Best Doctors, BetterHelp and HealthiestYou.[2] With a market capitalization of $4.1 billion,[13] on August 10, 2018, Teladoc, Inc. changed its name to Teladoc Health, Inc. while continuing to trade on the NYSE.[2] Teladoc Health began partnering with CVS in August 2018 on remote consults at MinuteClinics.[33] In December 2018, Teladoc Health's chief financial officer and chief operating officer Mark Hirschhorn resigned after a report that he engaged in a sexual relationship and insider trading with an employee.[34][35] According to Yahoo Finance, stock value fell roughly 20% in the days following,[36] while an investor class action lawsuit alleged that Teladoc Health had violated securities laws by failing to disclose Hirschhorn's behavior. Teladoc Health denied making false statements or any legal violations.[37] Joining from American Express, Mala Murthy was appointed CFO in June 2019.[38]

In late 2018, Teladoc Health acquired the telemedicine company Advance Medical for $352 million, which employed doctors in Latin America, Europe, and Asia.[11] In 2019, the French health company MédecinDirect was acquired.[3] In April 2019, Teladoc launched in Canada with the Teladoc Telemedicine Service.[39] In May 2019, the company created a virtual care patient safety organization (PSO) dubbed the Institute for Patient Safety and Quality of Virtual Care.[40] Currently headquartered in Purchase, New York,[5] as of 2019, the company was active in 130 countries and had around 27 million members.[1] David Sides was appointed COO in 2019.[38]

In January 2020, Teladoc announced that it had reached an agreement to pay $600 million to acquire InTouch Health.[41]