Affect

What Affect is

Affect is a telehealth platform delivering medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) plus care for depression, anxiety, PTSD, bipolar disorder, postpartum depression, and OCD. The company was founded in 2020 with a single mission: make addiction treatment easier, faster, and actually effective. A team of researchers, clinicians, engineers, and advocates built the service to deliver proven methods like medication-assisted treatment, CBT, contingency management, and peer support through a secure app, with care coordinated by a clinical team.

The company has grown from a single-state pilot in California to operating in 19 states, expanding roughly annually since 2021 (see the state list below). Its leadership includes a CEO, Chief Technology Officer, Chief Medical Officer, and Chief Customer Officer, with advisors including Dr. Thomas McLellan, one of the most published researchers in the field of substance use disorder treatments and the former Deputy Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Affect describes itself as the only nationally scaled digital treatment provider serving members across all mental health and substance use disorders and types of insurance.

How Affect works

The service delivers care entirely through a secure app. Patients can start by completing an online form or scheduling a free call with an enrollment coordinator to go over questions before beginning. Everything is private and judgment-free, available on your own schedule. After enrollment, your first appointment happens by video with a licensed clinical provider who reviews your health history and treatment needs. The company frames the model as "people-first, app-based, science-backed," designed so that traditional healthcare does not work for everyone, people who are tired of stigma, long commutes, and waiting lists.

For opioid use disorder, most patients are prescribed buprenorphine/naloxone (Suboxone) at their first visit, and the prescription can be sent to a pharmacy the same day. No in-person exam is required to start treatment. The site explains that federal rules allow buprenorphine to be prescribed by telehealth without a prior in-person visit, a policy in place continuously since 2020. Patients usually need to be in at least mild withdrawal before taking the first dose; your provider tells you what to look for and when to take it.

After the prescription is filled, ongoing care includes video visits, unlimited secure messaging with your care team, and access to peer support through online groups. Appointments, refills, and support groups all happen virtually. Patients can stay with the same provider for continuity, and the care team helps with logistics around pharmacy issues, insurance questions, and other life-level support. The service uses proven methods: medication-assisted treatment, CBT, contingency management (a behavioral technique rewarding positive behaviors), and peer support into the app. The service covers alcohol use disorder, cocaine, marijuana, prescription painkillers, heroin, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and crack, using similar protocols tailored to each substance.

For mental health conditions, the company launched its telehealth mental health program in 2025 to make high quality care for depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, postpartum depression, and bipolar disorder available to millions of Americans. Like the addiction programs, mental health care combines medication management with video visits and peer support delivered through the app.

What Affect covers and where

Affect currently operates in a growing list of states across the country. The company launched its first clinical pilot in California in 2021 and received a major NIH grant that same year to back a clinical trial. The service has since expanded to Arizona, Nevada, Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana by 2022; added Florida, New Mexico, Missouri, Illinois, Texas, Washington, North Carolina, and Idaho by 2023; added Virginia, Nebraska, Iowa, Colorado, and Oregon in 2024; and launched its mental health program in 2025 alongside its opioid use disorder program.

The insurance page lists accepted plans by state. In Arizona, the platform accepts AHCCCS (Medicaid), American Indian Health Program, Arizona Complete Health, Banner University Family Care, Ambetter, Cigna, Oscar, UnitedHealthcare, Humana Medicare Advantage, and UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage. California accepts Cigna, Oscar, Sharp Health Plan, and UnitedHealthcare for employer and marketplace plans. Colorado accepts Colorado Access, Colorado Community Health Alliance, Northeast Health Partners, Rocky Mountain Health Plans, state Medicaid, Cigna, and UnitedHealthcare. Florida accepts Medicaid (Aetna Better Health, AmeriHealth Caritas, Humana Healthy Horizons, Simply Healthcare, Sunshine Health, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan), Medicaid, employer and marketplace plans including Ambetter, Cigna, Oscar, Tricare East, and UnitedHealthcare, plus Humana Medicare Advantage and UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage.

The company states that for 90% of its members, treatment is entirely free. This is because most insured patients have their treatment cost covered by insurance once they've met their deductible, which many do not. The site is transparent that accepting insurance does not mean treatment is free; it means the insurance will pay toward it, and your personal cost depends on the specifics of your plan and whether you've hit your deductible.

What the site does not say

Affect does not publish a self-pay price on its insurance page. The site lists that insurance coverage varies by plan and state, and refers people without coverage to fill out a form for help. The exact self-pay cost is not listed on the captured pages. The site also does not specify which therapists or doctors work for Affect, it names the leadership team and advisors but not the full clinical staff. Specific wait times for appointments are not published beyond the assurance that enrollment is same-day when slots are available.

The service does not explain what happens if you miss appointments, whether there are refill policies, or what triggers a discharge. It names the conditions it treats but does not detail what treatment looks like for each one beyond the MAT model. The site does not mention outcomes data or clinical trial results from its NIH-backed research, only that the trial was funded.

Who it fits

Affect is built for people with opioid, alcohol, or stimulant use disorder who need treatment but can't access traditional in-person clinics because of stigma, long commutes, waiting lists, or geographic barriers. The company explicitly serves people covered by Medicaid, people managing other health or mental health conditions, people working jobs or raising kids, and people dealing with trauma, stigma, or legal systems. It fits someone who wants or needs medication-assisted treatment and can use a smartphone and video calls.

It does not fit someone who cannot engage with technology, needs in-person medication pickup (medication is mailed), or lives in a state where the service is not yet available. The service is for adults; the company does not mention treatment for teenagers or children. If you need same-day crisis intervention, Affect is not an emergency service. If you prefer or need in-person visits, the entirely virtual model is not for you.