Amae, a San Francisco-based provider, is improving care for serious mental illness (SMI). The company uses a holistic approach to unify fragmented parts of healthcare. Amae provides behavioral health care, primary care, and community support.
Sonia Garcia and Stas Sokolin founded Amae after seeing their family members struggle with SMI. They saw how difficult it was for patients to navigate the healthcare system. Sokolin realized that payers and health systems also faced challenges with SMI care.
Around 5.6% of people in the U.S. have SMI. However, many face barriers to accessing treatment. Amae’s care model includes the following:
- Psychiatrists
- Social workers
- Peer support
- Health coaches
- Primary care physicians
The company aims to integrate physical care into SMI treatment. Amae opened its first center in Los Angeles. It plans to work with commercial, Medicaid, and Medicare plans.
People with SMI often have worse health outcomes than the general population. On average, they live 10 to 20 years less than their non-SMI peers. Amae wants to change this by embedding primary care physicians into its model.
The company focuses on medication adherence using long-acting injectable antipsychotics. These medications can last up to 90 days and have lower side effects.
Amae also helps patients find purpose and reintegrate into their communities. The provider treats patients with both SMI and substance use disorders (SUD).
Other companies and government initiatives are also working to improve SMI care:
- Vanna: A startup connecting people with SMI to community resources
- Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics: $300 million federal investment
- Mobile Crisis Intervention Services: $15 million in planning grants from the Biden administration
- CMS Advanced Investment Payments: Funding for small providers in underserved areas
Amae plans to collaborate on research to personalize SMI treatments based on genetic and clinical factors. The company represents a growing trend of providers taking a community-based, whole-person approach to SMI care.
