The Peer Network

What The Peer Network does

The Peer Network, LLC is a St. Louis-based telehealth SaaS company founded in 2022 that connects individuals with certified peer support specialists for mental health and substance use recovery. The HIPAA-compliant platform enables one-on-one video sessions between members and credentialed peer specialists with lived experience, supporting direct-to-consumer sign-up, peer matching by background and support style, flexible scheduling with same-day availability, and secure session management across web and mobile. The company's products span individual sessions priced at $30 for 30 minutes or $60 for 60 minutes (payable via HSA/FSA, credit/debit, or commercial insurance) and enterprise offerings sold on a Per Employee Per Month basis to employers, health plans, third-party administrators, unions, and EAP providers.

The Peer Network generates revenue through four streams: out-of-pocket individual session fees, PEPM subscriptions for employer and health plan accounts, insurance reimbursement from commercial plans (and increasingly Medicaid), and EAP partnership integration fees where peer support is white-labeled inside incumbent EAP portfolios. The go-to-market is hybrid — self-serve for individual consumers via app.thepeernetwork.com, and sales-assisted for enterprise buyers with a 24-hour onboarding promise, aggregate utilization reporting, and no session caps. Distribution is exclusively digital via the HIPAA-compliant telehealth platform, with content marketing (blog), founder-led podcast and TV appearances, and SEO as the primary top-of-funnel channels.

The company is founder-led by CEO Kurt Schmidt (LMSW, MBA, MSW, Certified Peer Support Specialist), with CTO Steven Peterson (30+ years healthcare IT/SaaS) and an advisory board that includes former IBM Watson Health SVP Dr. Oliver Degnan, Connections Health Solutions CMO Dr. Holly DuBois, and former Experity CFO Rob Rueckl. Only $75,000 in disclosed funding (Arch Grants, October 2025) is reported, and the company operates with 1–10 employees, suggesting an early-stage capital profile.

Name

The Peer Network

Legal name

The Peer Network, LLC

Website

https://thepeernetwork.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Peer Network is a St. Louis-based telehealth SaaS company founded in 2022 that connects individuals and enterprise buyers with certified peer support specialists for HIPAA-compliant mental health and substance use recovery sessions via video, priced per-session for consumers and on a PEPM basis for employers, health plans, unions, and EAPs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Behavioral Health Telehealth

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (62419)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Mental Health Therapist Marketplaces (HLALALAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Multi-Specialty Telehealth Provider Marketplaces (HLALALAA)

Keywords

• Telehealth peer support
• Mental health platform
• Peer support specialists
• Behavioral health benefits
• Substance use recovery

Headquarters

HQ city

St Louis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Individual Session Fees (Out-of-Pocket): Individual consumers pay per session at $30 for a 30-minute session or $60 for a 60-minute session. Sessions are paid via credit/debit card or HSA/FSA cards. No insurance billing is required for individuals paying out-of-pocket.
2. Per Employee Per Month (PEPM) Subscription - Employers & Health Plans: The company sells access to employers, health plans, TPAs, and EAPs on a Per Employee Per Month basis. No session caps, no hidden fees. Employers and health plans contract for unlimited employee/dependent access to certified peer support sessions. Aggregate reporting provided to employer/TPA.
3. Insurance Reimbursement: Commercial insurance plans are accepted as a payment method for individual sessions, indicating the company bills commercial insurers. Many Medicaid programs and an increasing number of commercial plans reimburse certified peer support when delivered according to state rules.
4. EAP Partnership Integration Fees: The Peer Network integrates with existing EAP providers as a complementary benefit, extending their service portfolio. Revenue is derived from EAP partners who add peer support to their EAP portfolio under a Per Employee Per Month or per-session arrangement.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Peer Network operates a HIPAA-compliant telehealth platform that connects individuals with certified peer support specialists who have lived experience with mental health and substance use challenges. Sessions are delivered via secure video for individual consumers on a pay-per-session basis and for enterprise buyers (employers, health plans, TPAs, EAPs, unions) on a Per Employee Per Month subscription. The platform enables self-serve sign-up, peer matching, scheduling, and same-day session availability across the United States.

Product overview

The Peer Network offers a single unified telehealth platform delivering certified peer support services. The core product is the telehealth platform itself, which enables one-on-one video sessions between members and certified peer specialists. Individual sessions are sold directly to consumers at $30 (30 min) or $60 (60 min). The platform is also white-labeled or contracted as a benefit through three distinct channels: (1) Employer Mental Health Benefits — a Per Employee Per Month subscription for workplace wellness; (2) EAP Peer Support Integration — a complementary add-on for existing Employee Assistance Programs; (3) Union Member Peer Support — contracted through union health funds; and (4) Commercial Insurance/Health Plan Peer Support — integrated as a covered behavioral health benefit for insurers and self-insured employers. A group sessions offering is available on a demand basis. All channels run on the same HIPAA-compliant telehealth infrastructure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Individual Peer Support Sessions Direct-to-consumer telehealth peer support sessions priced at $30 for 30 minutes or $60 for 60 minutes, payable via credit/debit card, HSA, or FSA, with commercial insurance accepted and same-day booking availability. Designed for individuals seeking confidential, stigma-free support for mental health, substance use recovery, stress, grief, or burnout from a certified peer with lived experience.
• Employer Mental Health Benefit Per Employee Per Month (PEPM) employer-sponsored benefit giving employees and dependents confidential, stigma-free access to certified peer supporters via HIPAA-compliant telehealth, with 24-hour launch capability, no session caps, and aggregate utilization reporting for HR/benefits leaders.
• Health Plan Peer Support HIPAA-compliant telehealth peer support sold to self-insured employers and Third-Party Administrators on a Per Employee Per Month basis, with aggregate reporting, no session caps, and the goal of reducing unnecessary behavioral health spend and filling gaps in provider networks.
• Commercial Insurance Peer Support Benefit Behavioral health peer support benefit for commercial insurers and health plans that integrates as a covered benefit, aiming to address provider shortages, reduce total cost of care through early intervention and crisis prevention, and improve member satisfaction.
• Union Member Peer Support Confidential, HIPAA-compliant telehealth peer support designed for union members and their families, with availability outside traditional working hours to accommodate shift work, sold under flexible agreements tailored for union health funds.
• EAP Peer Support Integration Complementary HIPAA-compliant peer support service integrated into existing Employee Assistance Programs, providing peer sessions within 24 hours to help EAPs meet time-to-provider SLAs, with The Peer Network handling supervision, compliance oversight, and aggregate reporting.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4:1 return on investment for workplace mental health programs (independent research)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Talkspace: Talkspace operates a telehealth therapy marketplace sold to consumers, employers, and health plans, with PEPM employer plans. Although it is clinician-led rather than peer-led, it competes for the same HR/benefits and consumer mental-health wallet share.
• Workit Health: Workit Health provides virtual substance-use disorder treatment including clinician care and peer recovery support, sold to health plans, employers, and individuals. It overlaps The Peer Network's SUD-focused peer support and self-pay/insurance billing model.
• Pelago: Pelago (formerly Quit Genius) is a virtual substance-use management platform sold to employers and health plans, combining clinician visits with coaching and peer-style support. It is a direct competitor for the same payer and employer budgets in the SUD category.
• Spring Health: Spring Health provides employer-sponsored mental-health benefits via PEPM contracts covering therapy, coaching, and medication management. It competes head-to-head with The Peer Network for employer benefits budgets and has materially more capital and clinical breadth.
• Lyra Health: Lyra Health is the largest venture-backed employer mental-health benefits platform, selling PEPM-style contracts to employers and health plans and offering therapy, coaching, and medication management. It is the most direct competitor for the same HR/benefits buyer and RFP that The Peer Network is targeting.
• Boulder Care: Boulder Care delivers telehealth-based substance-use treatment that combines medication-assisted treatment with peer support and coaching. It targets payers and employers in the same SUD/recovery segment The Peer Network serves and uses a similar lived-experience modality.
• Modern Health: Modern Health is a global employer mental-health platform combining self-serve digital tools, coaching, therapy, and EAP-style services on a PEPM basis. It directly competes with The Peer Network in the employer benefits channel and offers a broader clinical stack.

Emerging players

• Ophelia: Ophelia provides telehealth medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder, paired with peer support and care coordination, sold to individuals and select payers. It is a narrower but highly comparable emerging player in the SUD/peer-support telehealth space.

Broad incumbents

• BetterHelp: BetterHelp (a Teladoc subsidiary) is the largest direct-to-consumer online therapy marketplace with subscription-based individual pricing. It overlaps The Peer Network's consumer mental-health segment with a clinical, therapist-led model at a similar price band.
• Headspace Health (Ginger): Headspace, post-merger with Ginger, offers a consumer and employer mental-health platform spanning meditation, coaching, therapy, and psychiatry. It is a broader incumbent than The Peer Network but competes for the same employer mental-health RFPs and consumer mindshare.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/people/The-Peer-Network/100088690969381
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-peer-network
• Instagraminstagram.com/thepeernetwork

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Peer Network