Paul Martino, Co-Founder of VillageMD, Joins Forge Health as Chairman of the Board

Pioneer healthcare executive to further company's growth and scale innovative behavioral healthcare model

Forge Health (“Forge” or the “Company”), a leading provider of value-based mental health and substance use care, today announced that accomplished health services executive Paul Martino has been appointed to its board of directors as the new Chairman. The appointment comes after Forge’s previous Board Chair, Tim Wentworth, stepped down prior to becoming the new CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance.

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Paul Martino, Forge Health Chairman of the Board (Photo: Business Wire)

“I’m thrilled to join the Forge Health team during this exciting time of transformation in the healthcare industry," said Mr. Martino. “Forge Health’s behavioral health care model has been validated by a national payor. They drive clinical outcomes that span all areas of health, and have the potential to significantly enhance the model of behavioral healthcare delivery in America. I’m excited to work with the Forge team to build upon the great work they are already doing.”

In this role, Mr. Martino will provide unmatched insight, expertise, and thought leadership to support Forge on strategies to expand its market-leading “one-stop-shop” mental health and substance use care model, as well as enhance its partnerships with primary care physicians, specialty medical groups, health systems, and payors.

With more than thirty years of leadership and healthcare industry experience, Mr. Martino has driven growth and fostered innovation as a healthcare services and health plan executive. Mr. Martino is the co-founder of VillageMD, a leading value-based care company for primary, multispecialty, and urgent care. Prior to VillageMD, he was Senior Vice President of Clinical Strategy and Innovation at Anthem/WellPoint, where he was instrumental in architecting Anthem’s payment innovation strategy, developing its Patient-Centered Primary Care model, and establishing value-based contracts with Anthem’s primary care physician network.

“Paul uniquely understands the challenges that the healthcare system faces in trying to deliver the best health outcomes for their patients and shares our same commitment to driving innovation and improving care delivery at the interface of behavioral health and physical medicine,” said Eric Frieman, co-founder, and CEO of Forge Health. “His success in driving transformative healthcare innovation, coupled with his remarkable business acumen, make him the ideal partner to advance the Forge Health mission. We are humbled that he has chosen Forge Health as the first Board to serve as Chair.”

Founded in 2016, Forge Health has a history of successfully partnering with key industry stakeholders to deliver transformative, value-based mental health and substance use care to increase access, lower costs, improve care quality, and provide an exceptional patient experience. The company is in-network with more than 30 commercial and government health plans. Through growing population health partnerships with leading health plans and health systems, it now manages more than 300,000 members under its value-based partnership model. In 2022, Forge announced a national payor-led clinical outcomes research study showing that Forge patients maintained significant improvement in both medical utilization and overall health outcomes a full year after treatment for mental health and substance use.

Mr. Martino’s appointment comes as Forge continues to scale rapidly and enhance its track record of partnering with primary care physicians, specialty medical groups, and health systems to provide integrated mental health and substance use care that transforms the patient journey and vastly improves patient outcomes and experience.

These partnerships include streamlined referral management, information exchange, and care coordination, and in certain circumstances, include physical co-location to improve diagnosis, collaborative treatment, and timely access to care. The addition of Mr. Martino as Chairman of the Board marks a significant step towards setting a new industry benchmark for whole-person care delivery.

About Forge Health

Forge Health is a mission-driven company dedicated to delivering the highest quality, affordable, accessible, and effective “one-stop-shop” mental health and substance use care to individuals, families, and communities in need. The Forge care model utilizes multidisciplinary clinical teams, data analytics, and streamlined care delivery to provide individualized, whole-person care that concurrently addresses mental health and substance use issues while driving improved health outcomes. As the first and only behavioral healthcare provider with a proven, national payor-validated ability to drive clinical outcomes that span all areas of health, Forge Health is leading the charge in driving innovation, improving care delivery, and shaping the future of behavioral healthcare.

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