Amazon plans to expand its Amazon Care offering to include behavioral health services, as well as a partnership with digital mental health company Ginger.

The new service, which hasn't launched yet, will provide Amazon Care users on-demand access to mental health experts such as licensed therapists or psychiatrists, according to people familiar with the matter and a live website about the partnership. The website says Amazon Care's coordinators will be able to refer patients to "high-quality, in-network behavioral health providers whenever possible,” Reports BusinessInsider (Amazon Care Plans to Offer Mental Health Support and Partner With Ginger (businessinsider.com))

Ginger, best known for its virtual behavioral health therapy services, is expected to become available as an additional option to Amazon Care users. The two companies will share patient information, the website says: "Amazon Care makes behavioral health a priority for your workplace. Our primary care providers treat a range of common behavioral health concerns," (...) "We've also teamed up with Ginger, an on-demand mental healthcare platform, as an optional add-on to Amazon Care."

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The Amazon Care Service originally started as a virtual clinic for in-house employees, the service has since expanded to external employers across the country. In February, Amazon reported that it would be adding personal assistance in more than 20 new cities this year, including New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Miami.

But the tech and retail giant has a lot of ambitions in the healthcare space. Amazon announced this last month signed a definitive agreement to acquire hybrid primary care provider One Medical in a cash deal valued approximately $3.9 billion.

"Having a physical footprint with brick and mortar really helps expand their continuum of care," Sanjula Jain, senior vice president for market strategy and chief research officer at Trilliant Health, said on HIMSS TV. "Now being truly in the primary care space makes their earlier investments make a lot more sense. Now there's a way to actually integrate that into the care delivery process."

Ginger was founded in 2011 by entrepreneurs and data scientists at the MIT Media Lab. In October 2021 Ginger completed its merger with stress, sleep, and meditation app Headspace to form Headspace Health. Prior to the deal, the virtual mental health company had raised $100 million in a Series E funding round.