Digital health breakthrough as US insurers agree to pay for insomnia app

Deal with CVS Health means digital treatment can be paid for in same way as sleeping pills

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Hundreds of thousands of Americans will be able to access an app to tackle sleeplessness after CVS Health, which administers health benefits for insurers and big employers, set up a way for the treatment to be paid for in the same way as a drug.

On Tuesday, CVS said it was partnering with Big Health, a San Francisco-based company that has developed the Sleepio app to treat insomnia. The agreement means that employers or health plans will be able to add Sleepio to the list of solutions they reimburse, and check patients’ eligibility, using the same systems and processes used for drugs.

The Sleepio programme is based on cognitive behavioural therapy, which helps users make changes to improve their sleep. It has been studied in eight randomised controlled trials.