The fallout from COVID-19 may be drawing more interest towards remote health services. Case in point, CNBC reported last week that UnitedHealth's tech-enabled health services provider Optum was in talks to acquire virtual therapy platform AbleTo for close to $470 million.

The timing would make sense. Earlier this month, MedCityNews reported that AbleTo had seen 25% uptick in users as people seek help coping with stress related to COVID-19 without violating social distancing orders.

"We're broadening the hours of our existing therapists and recruiting new providers," Dr. Reena Pande, AbleTo's chief medical officer, told MedCity News.

Optum, meanwhile, appears to be focused on acquisition-based growth. The company acquired Vivify Health, a provider of remote patient monitoring solutions, in October 2019. Nearly 3 months prior, the company had acquired health care provider DaVita Medical Group, with Optum CEO Andrew Witty expressing an interest in building "a next-generation comprehensive, coordinated health care organization."

Now it appears that telehealth could be the next brick in the wall. CNBC noted that Optum had already made a "significant" investment in AbleTo during a 2019 Series D financing round. In a press announcement, Optum Ventures principal Stephen Renfro highlighted the impact virtual solutions could have on the way people received health care.

"AbleTo is changing the way people access and experience behavioral health care, and we look forward to working with AbleTo to drive further innovative solutions," Renfro said.

Per CNBC, the $470 price tag of the potential acquisition would value AbleTo at "about 10 times forward revenue" — which could make sense given that the rate at which people are seeking out telemedicine may be accelerating due to steps taken to address fallout from COVID-19.

After President Donald Trump declared a national emergency in response to the pandemic in March, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released guidance allowing Medicare to pay for telehealth services. Insurance companies like Aetna or AmeriHealth New Jersey are also offering to reimburse providers for telemedicine at the same rate as in-person visits or waving cost sharing.

As the availability and interest in telemedicine increases companies like AbleTo may already be seeing an increase in traffic. On Wednesday, telemedicine and virtual health company Teladoc reported a 41% growth in year-over-year revenue.

Meanwhile, Tom Cassels of Rock Health, a venture firm focused on digital health, told CNBC that barriers to seeking in-person care may free up "latent demand" for telemedicine services. "Mismatch between supply and demand for mental health services is massive and growing, making virtual care models that scale a winning value proposition," Cassels said.

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Is UnitedHealth looking to get into the telemedicine game?

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