Galileo

Galileo is a health care provider that delivers urgent, primary, chronic and behavioral health care through a mobile app staffed by doctors, nurse practitioners and health advocates available 24 hours a day. Patients interact with clinicians by text chat, voice or video, and the practice can order labs, write and renew prescriptions, make specialist referrals, consolidate medical records and help patients navigate coverage questions. Conditions treated span everyday needs (prescription renewals, contraception and PrEP, acne, hair loss), urgent issues (cold, flu and COVID, allergies, urinary tract infections, STI testing and treatment, gastrointestinal complaints, back pain), ongoing conditions (type 2 diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, thyroid disorders, asthma, migraines, PCOS, weight management, menopause) and mental health (anxiety, depression, stress and insomnia).

Beyond the app, Galileo describes four delivery channels: mobile clinics sent into communities, specialized in-home care teams for complex and chronic needs, on-demand virtual access through mobile devices, and in-person care at Galileo clinics. The company positions the model as value-based, addressing medical issues proactively to reduce downstream utilization. Galileo emphasizes that it is a provider rather than an insurer: membership fees, whether paid by the individual, an employer or a health plan, cover care delivered inside the app, while referred in-person visits, procedures and labs are billed through the patient's insurance.

Business model

Galileo sells memberships directly to individuals and also contracts with employers and health plans that sponsor access for their populations. Published individual pricing includes a $49 monthly plan with a three-month minimum, a $299 annual plan, each with a $10 fee per provider consultation, and a $109 single visit option. Through insurance arrangements, member cost per visit is stated as ranging from $0 to $99 depending on plan, with $99 as the maximum per visit.

Recurring subscription fees (monthly or annual memberships) plus per-consultation fees, one-off single-visit charges, and contracts with businesses and health plans; care delivered as an in-network provider is reimbursed under the patient's insurance plan with applicable member cost sharing.

Traction

The company reports an 11.5% reduction in total cost of care within six months for employer clients, that over 80% of patients receive a diagnosis within 24 hours, and that its team treats 90% of needs without a referral. Galileo became in-network for certain plans starting August 1, 2024 and states it will be available as a virtual in-network provider across UnitedHealthcare Individual & Family ACA Marketplace plans in 2025. A notice on its enrollment page cites higher demand producing wait times of up to five hours for non-urgent cases.

Latest developments

Galileo listed itself as in-network starting August 1, 2024 for select insurance plans and announced that Virtual First plans would be replaced on January 1, 2025 by comparable UnitedHealthcare Individual & Family ACA Marketplace plans, under which Galileo care is to be available at the same cost as in-person primary care visits and Galileo is to be a virtual in-network provider across those plans.