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Healthcare · head to head

Included Health vs Koa Health

Included Health logo

Included Health

Healthcare

Care navigation and virtual care in one contract for self funded employers and health plans

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Koa Health logo

Koa Health

Healthcare

Employer and health plan digital mental health, acquired by PsychPlus in June 2026

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Included Health owning both the navigation recommendations and the virtual care delivery creates a structural incentive to steer members to the vendor own clinicians, and an employer should require disclosure and measurement of how often that happens.; Koa Health psychPlus acquired Koa Health in June 2026, so buyers are now contracting with the technology arm of an American psychiatry provider group rather than a European digital health company, and roadmap, data residency and European product investment should all be re-examined before renewal.
  • They diverge on capability: Included Health covers Care navigation, Koa Health covers Stepped care triage.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Included Health and Koa Health actually diverge.

Attributes where Included Health and Koa Health differ
AttributeIncluded HealthKoa Health

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), platforms (Web, iOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Healthcare).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Included Health

  • Care navigation
  • Provider quality steerage
  • Expert medical opinion
  • Virtual primary care
  • Virtual behavioural health
  • Virtual urgent care
  • Benefits integration
  • Employer reporting

Only in Koa Health

  • Stepped care triage
  • Self guided digital modules
  • Coaching tier
  • Licensed clinical care
  • Employer and plan reporting
  • Multi country delivery
  • Clinical governance

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Included Health

  • A large self funded employer whose members cannot tell which specialist to see and who currently absorbs the cost of poor referral decisionsnot Koa Health
  • An employer that has bought several point solutions and needs one front door that routes members to the ones already paid fornot Koa Health
  • A self funded plan wanting expert second opinions before high cost elective surgery, where a changed recommendation pays for the programmenot Koa Health
  • An employer replacing separate navigation and telehealth vendors with one contract and one member experiencenot Koa Health

Koa Health

  • An employer that wants something between a meditation app and a full clinical benefit, with triage deciding which members need a cliniciannot Included Health
  • A European health plan needing a digital mental health offering with clinical governance and local language deliverynot Included Health
  • A health system wanting to absorb low acuity behavioural health demand before it reaches scarce psychiatry appointmentsnot Included Health
  • A multinational standardising a stepped care pathway across several European markets under one contractnot Included Health

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Included Health

  • Owning both the navigation recommendations and the virtual care delivery creates a structural incentive to steer members to the vendor own clinicians, and an employer should require disclosure and measurement of how often that happens.
  • Pricing is per employee per month across the whole eligible population, so a plan with low navigation engagement pays for everyone to serve the minority who call.
  • Savings claims rest on avoided costs and changed referral decisions, which are counterfactual by nature, so performance guarantees need very careful definition or they measure activity rather than money.
  • The company is a merger of three organisations with different origins, and members and benefits teams still encounter seams between navigation, virtual primary care and behavioural health that the single brand implies are absent.
  • It sells primarily to large self funded employers, so mid market employers and fully insured plans find both the pricing and the implementation effort disproportionate to their size.

Koa Health

  • PsychPlus acquired Koa Health in June 2026, so buyers are now contracting with the technology arm of an American psychiatry provider group rather than a European digital health company, and roadmap, data residency and European product investment should all be re-examined before renewal.
  • Stepped care only produces savings when triage is accurate, and members routed to a self guided module when they believe they need a therapist commonly disengage entirely, which a utilisation report records as low engagement rather than as a triage failure.
  • Pricing is per employee or per member per month across the eligible population, so an employer with modest engagement pays for everyone in order to serve a minority.
  • Clinician availability and language coverage differ substantially by country, so a multinational contract that reads as one global standard delivers a materially different experience in secondary markets.
  • Koa competes against much larger and better funded benefits vendors in the United States, and the acquisition does not change the fact that its brand recognition with American benefits consultants is low, which affects broker driven shortlists.

Pricing, plan by plan

Included Health

On request
  • Included Health$undefined/year
    • Per employee per month across the eligible population, quoted not published
    • Navigation and virtual care modules priced separately or bundled
    • Some components offered with performance guarantees tied to measured savings

Koa Health

On request
  • Koa Health$undefined/year
    • Per employee per month or per member per month, quoted not published
    • Rate depends on which steps of the care ladder are included
    • Clinical tier access priced separately from digital content access

Which should you pick?

Choose Included Health if

  • You need care navigation.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want provider quality steerage.
Included Health review

Choose Koa Health if

  • You need stepped care triage.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want self guided digital modules.
Koa Health review

Questions people ask

Is Included Health or Koa Health better?
Neither clearly leads. Included Health starts at On request and Koa Health at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Included Health or Koa Health?
Included Health starts at On request and Koa Health at On request.
Does Included Health or Koa Health run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Included Health best used for?
Included Health is most often used for a large self funded employer whose members cannot tell which specialist to see and who currently absorbs the cost of poor referral decisions, an employer that has bought several point solutions and needs one front door that routes members to the ones already paid for, a self funded plan wanting expert second opinions before high cost elective surgery, where a changed recommendation pays for the programme, an employer replacing separate navigation and telehealth vendors with one contract and one member experience. Of those, a large self funded employer whose members cannot tell which specialist to see and who currently absorbs the cost of poor referral decisions and an employer that has bought several point solutions and needs one front door that routes members to the ones already paid for are not what Koa Health is typically brought in for.
What can Included Health do that Koa Health cannot?
Included Health covers Care navigation, Provider quality steerage, Expert medical opinion, Virtual primary care. Koa Health covers Stepped care triage, Self guided digital modules, Coaching tier, Licensed clinical care.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Included Health: What exactly is Included Health?

The combination of Grand Rounds Health navigation, Doctor On Demand virtual care and the original Included Health concierge service, operating under one brand since late 2021.

Koa Health: Is Koa Health still operating?

Yes. PsychPlus acquired it in June 2026 and the brand and platform continue. It is not a shutdown, but the ownership and clinical direction have changed.

Included Health: Who pays for it?

The self funded employer or the health plan pays a per employee per month fee. Virtual care visits may also carry member cost sharing depending on plan design.

Koa Health: Who buys Koa Health?

Employers, health plans and health systems. It is not sold direct to individuals.

Included Health: Is there a minimum size?

No published minimum, but it sells primarily to large self funded employers and the pricing and implementation effort do not suit small organisations.

Koa Health: How is it priced?

Per employee or per member per month, quoted rather than published, with the rate depending on which steps of the care ladder are in scope.

Included Health: How does it recommend providers?

Through data driven quality analysis rather than a plain directory. Ask specifically how those recommendations are produced and how often they resolve to the company own virtual clinicians.

Koa Health: Does it provide access to psychiatrists?

Clinical access is included in the higher tiers, and the PsychPlus acquisition adds psychiatry provider capacity in the United States. Confirm what your specific contract covers.

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