Pelago Launches Behavioral Health Platform Uniting Substance Use, Mental Health and Behavioral Addiction Care

One contract, one member record, and co-occurring conditions treated in a single plan, with Sona, Pelago's clinical AI, assessing every member under licensed clinical supervision

NEW YORK, Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Pelago, the leading specialty substance use care provider, today announced the Pelago Behavioral Health Platform. Now, substance use, mental health and behavioral addiction care all sit on one contract and one member record, so co-occurring conditions are assessed and treated in a single plan. Every member starts with Sona, Pelago's voice-first clinical AI, which assesses what they need and stays with them under licensed clinical supervision.

Behavioral health spending continues to climb, adding to the affordability pressures facing employers. Employers have spent the past decade expanding access, and the harder question now is whether the right care reaches the right person. The default benefit routes nearly everyone to the same place — one-on-one therapy sessions — regardless of how acute their needs are. Most people seeking help don't need that level of support, yet that's where the spending goes.

The alternative is acuity-matched care: assess what someone actually needs, start with the least intensive support that works, and escalate when it does not. Pelago has delivered substance use treatment this way from the start, proving nearly $12,000 in annual savings per participant.

The Pelago Behavioral Health Platform extends that model across substance use care, mental health and behavioral addictions like gambling or binge eating. Someone with a lower-acuity need gets right-sized support instead of a therapy referral, and someone who needs a specialist still gets one. All three run on one contract with one member record, so co-occurring needs are treated on a single plan, and a member moving between programs keeps their history.

"The decision about what care someone needs shapes both their experience and what an employer spends," said Yusuf Sherwani, M.D., CEO and Co-founder of Pelago. "We built Pelago around getting that decision right, following people's progress and stepping up care when needed. That is the model we're extending across behavioral health."

Sona, Pelago's voice-first clinical AI, has been in use with members since its introduction this summer. Two sequential observational studies analyzed more than 9,000 member conversations. Among participants who began with clinical-range depression or anxiety scores and completed repeat assessments, nearly half improved by at least five points on the PHQ-9 or GAD-7 within about a month, with improvement outnumbering worsening by more than 13 to 1. Participants in both studies reported 20% to 25% fewer poor mental health days each month. Today, Sona becomes the front door across all three programs, assessing every member and matching them to a program and level of care under licensed clinical supervision.

"Behavioral health is one of our fastest-growing cost areas," said Marina Pearson, VP of Global Benefits, Lumen Technologies. "Pelago had already earned our trust through substance use treatment, bringing our cost of care down while improving outcomes and engagement. Sona applies that same approach to mental health, delivering clinically supervised AI that is accessible 24/7 for our people. So far, our employees love it. It's referring our people to the right care across our ecosystem and doing it with a pricing model that's based on outcomes."

To understand why employer behavioral health spending keeps rising without improving outcomes, read Pelago's industry report, Misaligned: Why more spending can't buy better mental healthcare. The Pelago Behavioral Health Platform is available to employers and health plans today, with member access beginning in November, ahead of January 1 plan years. Learn more here: www.pelagohealth.com

About Pelago

Pelago is the behavioral health platform that proved care doesn't have to choose between quality and cost. Pelago puts 100% of its fees at risk on measurable improvement, a model that brought the cost of addiction care from roughly $30,000 to roughly $3,000 per member. The platform spans substance use care, mental health care and behavioral addictions on one contract with one member record, with every member entering through Sona under licensed clinical supervision.

SOURCE Pelago