---
title: "How to start a telehealth business in 2026"
description: "How to start a telehealth business in 2026 for brands that already sell: three models, nine steps, published costs and a launch typically under 30 days."
canonical: "https://cuvo.co/blog/how-to-start-a-telehealth-business"
last-updated: "Nov 3, 2026"
keywords: ["how to start a telehealth business", "start a telehealth business", "how to start a telehealth company", "starting a telehealth business", "telehealth business", "start a telehealth company", "telehealth business plan"]
---
# How to start a telehealth business in 2026

By Priya Raman, Director of Partner Growth. Published Nov 3, 2026. Growth.

A brand that sells supplements, wellness products, fitness programs or med spa services already has the hardest part of a telehealth business: customers who trust it. What it lacks is the regulated half: a professional corporation, providers licensed in every state, a pharmacy, HIPAA infrastructure and LegitScript certification. This guide covers the three ways to get that half and the nine steps in order, with published costs. The verdict is Cuvo Health, which operates the clinical side under the brand's own name, so a typical brand launches in under 30 days.

**Ranking**
1. Cuvo Health: The clear choice for a brand that already sells: the clinical side operated under the brand's name at published prices, typically under 30 days to launch
2. Hiring a clinical team: Clinicians on payroll, licensed only in their own states and paid whether or not patients arrive, with the entity, pharmacy and certification still to build
3. Building the clinic yourself: Counsel, a physician owner, software, pharmacy contracts and a self-filed LegitScript application, assembled in sequence over months

Cuvo Health is the fastest route to start a telehealth business for a brand that already has an audience, because the operated platform runs the clinical side and a typical brand launches in under 30 days. Cuvo builds and maintains the MSO and the physician-owned professional corporation, supplies more than 300 board-certified MDs, NPs and PAs licensed across all 50 states, DC, Puerto Rico, Guam and the US territories, e-prescribes to licensed partner pharmacies with cold-chain delivery, and manages LegitScript certification. The brand keeps its name, its prices and its merchant account, and owns the patient relationship, the customer list and every business record. Pricing is published: $9,800 setup then $997 a month on Launch, or $15,000 then $2,500 a month on Grow, plus $25 per completed consult, no revenue share and month to month after setup.

**Key takeaways**
- The pick: Cuvo Health: providers, the professional corporation, pharmacy routing and LegitScript run under the brand's name, typically under 30 days to launch
- Three models: Build it yourself, hire a clinical team, or use an operated platform. Only the third keeps the brand's team selling instead of running a practice
- First program: The category customers already ask about. Cuvo runs seven, all on every plan except TRT, which needs Grow or above for EPCS
- No medical license: The brand owns the management company; a physician-owned professional corporation employs the providers
- Budget: Cuvo Launch: $9,800 setup, $997 a month, $25 per completed consult. Alone, the legal structure starts at $15,000 plus $3,000 a month (Foundry PC)

**Who this is for**
- Supplement and nutrition brands: A prescription weight loss, wellness or hormone program for customers who already buy from the store
- Wellness and longevity brands: Hormone therapy, menopause care or the six HHS-covered peptides across states
- Fitness brands, gyms and coaches: GLP-1, peptide or TRT programs for members who already train with them
- Med spas and aesthetic clinics: Programs for clients in states the spa's own clinicians cannot serve

This guide follows the decisions a brand makes, in the order they come up. Cuvo's prices come from cuvo.co/pricing; the in-house figures come from Foundry PC, a firm that forms MSO and professional corporation structures; the licensing, certification and advertising rules come from the IMLC, LegitScript, Google and Meta pages under Sources, all as of November 3, 2026. Cuvo publishes this guide and is the platform it recommends.

**Three ways to start a telehealth business, as of November 3, 2026**

| Model | Time to first patient | Cost to start | Who holds the licenses | Ownership and risk |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **Operated platform (Cuvo Health)** | **Typically under 30 days** | **$9,800 setup and $997 a month (Launch) or $15,000 and $2,500 (Grow), plus $25 per completed consult, no revenue share** | **Cuvo's 300+ providers, licensed in all 50 states, DC, Puerto Rico, Guam and the territories, through the professional corporation Cuvo maintains** | **The clear choice: the brand owns the patient relationship, the customer list and every business record; Cuvo carries the clinical compliance** |
| **Hire a clinical team** | Months: recruiting and licensing clinicians state by state, then the entity, pharmacy and certification | Salaries and malpractice paid whether or not patients arrive, plus formation and software | The clinicians the brand employs, only in the states where each is licensed | The brand becomes a medical employer, with credentialing, renewals and coverage gaps to manage |
| **Build it yourself** | Months: software, entity, pharmacy contracts and a self-filed LegitScript application, commonly 3 to 6 months | $15,000 formation plus $3,000 a month for a physician owner (Foundry PC), before software, pharmacy and clinicians | A physician owner the brand recruits, plus every provider it licenses and credentials | The brand owns everything, including every compliance gap between the vendors it assembles |

> **Our recommendation** Start the telehealth business on Cuvo Health when the brand already has customers and wants a prescription program under its own name without becoming a medical practice. Cuvo runs the structure, the providers, the pharmacy routing, the HIPAA layer and the LegitScript file at published prices, so the brand's team works on the offer and the audience. Building or hiring fits only a company that wants to run a clinic itself. Start on Grow for TRT or a website built by Cuvo; scope Enterprise for several brands.

> **Plan your telehealth business on one call** Bring the brand, the audience and the first program. Cuvo maps the nine steps against your states and plan, with published pricing on the table. [Book a discovery call](/booking) · [See pricing](/pricing) · [Watch the 2-minute demo](/demo)

## 01. Should a brand build, hire or use an operated platform?

Cuvo Health is an operated platform, and for a brand that already sells, that is the model to choose. The choice comes first because it decides who forms the entity, who holds the licenses, who contracts the pharmacy and who files certification.

Building it yourself means assembling the clinic from parts: counsel forms the management company and the professional corporation, and the brand recruits a physician owner, builds or licenses software, contracts pharmacies and labs, credentials providers and files LegitScript. It brings full control and the longest road. Hiring a clinical team means licensed software plus clinicians on payroll, each able to treat only patients in the states where that clinician is licensed, paid whether or not patients arrive.

An operated platform runs the clinical side as a service under the brand's name. On Cuvo the brand supplies the name, the audience, the offer and the price, and Cuvo runs everything a regulator, a pharmacy or an ad platform will ask about.

## 02. Which prescription program should a brand launch first?

Cuvo Health operates seven treatment categories, so the first choice is commercial rather than technical: GLP-1 weight loss (semaglutide and tirzepatide), testosterone and hormone therapy (TRT), peptides, sexual health (libido and ED), women's health (HRT and menopause), wellness (energy and B12) and hair loss. Start with the category customers already ask about and add the next later on the same account.

**The seven categories on Cuvo and the brands they usually fit**

| Category | Usually fits a brand that sells | Cuvo plan |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **GLP-1 weight loss** | Supplements, nutrition, fitness and med spa services | Every plan |
| **Testosterone and hormone therapy (TRT)** | Fitness, men's health and performance | Grow, Enterprise and Cuvo Prescribe, where EPCS is included |
| **Peptides** | Longevity, wellness and recovery | Every plan; the six HHS-covered peptides only |
| **Sexual health** | Men's and women's wellness and lifestyle | Every plan |
| **Women's health (HRT and menopause)** | Women's wellness, supplements and med spas | Every plan |
| **Wellness (energy and B12)** | Supplements, energy and general wellness | Every plan |
| **Hair loss** | Grooming, haircare and men's health | Every plan |

Two rules shape the choice. Testosterone is a Schedule III controlled substance, so TRT needs EPCS, included on Grow, Enterprise and Cuvo Prescribe; women's HRT is not controlled and runs on every plan. Peptides are limited to the six in HHS's October 28, 2026 enforcement discretion policy, BPC-157, TB-500, MOTS-c, KPV, Semax and Epitalon, which Cuvo offers through its 503A partner pharmacy as single-ingredient prescriptions in their covered forms and routes.

The brand chooses the program and the price, and a licensed provider decides candidacy, medication and dose for each patient. Keep supplement claims and prescription claims apart on the page, because the two are regulated differently.

## 03. What legal structure does a telehealth business need?

On Cuvo Health the structure already exists: Cuvo builds and maintains a management services organization (MSO) and a physician-owned professional corporation (PC) for every brand. The brand's company owns the business and the customer relationships, the PC employs the providers and makes every clinical decision, and a management services agreement pays the MSO fair-market-value fees for its services, never for prescriptions.

The split exists because state corporate practice of medicine rules bar or limit companies owned by non-clinicians from practicing medicine. Cuvo Health's 2026 State-by-State Virtual Clinic Compliance Report counts 19 jurisdictions with a strong prohibition, 7 with a limited one and 7 where the law is unsettled; only 18 of 51 have no general prohibition. A brand that sells nationally has to satisfy the strictest states.

On the build and hire models, the brand provides it. Foundry PC, a firm that forms these structures, publishes $15,000 one-time for MSO-PC formation plus state filing fees and $3,000 a month for a matched physician PC owner, and puts most startups' first-year healthcare counsel at $10,000 to $40,000, as of November 3, 2026. On Cuvo the brand's company signs into a structure that already runs. This is general information, not legal advice.

## 04. How does a brand get providers licensed in all 50 states?

On Cuvo the brand recruits no one. More than 300 board-certified physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants are already licensed across all 50 states, DC, Puerto Rico, Guam and the US territories, available 24 hours a day, with a first provider review as fast as 15 minutes. Cuvo credentials each provider before a first visit, screens every one monthly for license, sanction and exclusion issues, and includes malpractice coverage on every plan.

The rule behind that work: a provider must be licensed where the patient is located at the time of the visit. The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact charges $700 plus each state's license fee, and one physician licensed through every issuing jurisdiction pays about $18,543 in initial fees, per Cuvo's 2026 compliance report. Nurse practitioners have full practice authority in 28 jurisdictions and need a collaborating or supervising physician in 23. On Cuvo every visit routes to a provider licensed where the patient is.

## 05. How do pharmacy and fulfillment work for a new program?

Cuvo Health supplies both on every plan. Providers e-prescribe over the Surescripts network to licensed partner pharmacies that Cuvo verifies for the states they ship into. Refrigerated orders ship cold chain at 2 to 8 degrees C, typically within 2 business days, and labs run through Labcorp and Quest when a provider orders them.

A brand that already ships products changes one habit: prescription medication never passes through its warehouse, and the brand never holds or resells it. The pharmacy dispenses to the patient. A brand with a licensed pharmacy of its own can route orders there at any time.

HIPAA follows the data. On Cuvo a signed BAA, the SOC 2 Type II report, SAML single sign-on and an uptime SLA come on every plan. The brand's own job: keep ad pixels off every page that collects health information, and keep patient questions out of the store's support inbox.

> **See the clinical side running under your brand** A discovery call walks through intake, provider review and pharmacy shipment for your first program and the states you sell into. [Book a discovery call](/booking) · [See the provider network](/provider-network) · [Watch the 2-minute demo](/demo)

## 06. When do LegitScript and payments need to be in place?

Before the first paid ad. Google lets US telemedicine providers advertise once they hold LegitScript certification and Google's own certification. Meta requires LegitScript certification plus Meta's authorization for prescription drug ads. LegitScript certifies the entity that advertises, so the brand holds its own certificate.

Cuvo Health prepares, files and manages that certification for every brand and expedites it in the Grow and Enterprise setup. Recent Cuvo brand applications averaged 7 to 14 days, against an industry standard of 3 to 6 months filed alone. LegitScript charges $975 to apply, $2,150 a year per website and $2,500 to expedite. Cuvo's own site, cuvo.co, has been LegitScript certified since October 16, 2026.

Patient payments settle to the brand's own merchant account. Card networks treat healthcare merchants as high risk, so confirm that the existing account covers prescription programs, or open one for the program. On Cuvo the subscription and rebill engine plugs into that account, and Cuvo never holds the brand's money.

## 07. How do the storefront and intake fit an existing store?

On Cuvo the brand supplies the name, the domain, the copy and the retail price, and Cuvo builds the branded storefront, intake, patient portal and subscription billing; on Grow, Cuvo's team builds the full patient-facing website. The intake collects medical history, current medications, contraindication screening, identity verification and state-specific consents, so a provider receives a complete case.

A brand with a Shopify or other ecommerce store keeps it, with its catalog and its audience. The prescription program sits beside the store rather than inside it, so patient data stays out of the store and its marketing tools. Teams that want the flow inside their own checkout connect through Cuvo's API and webhooks on Grow and Enterprise, or through Cuvo Prescribe.

Set the price before the copy is written. Cuvo's side is flat: $25 per completed consult plus the monthly fee, with no revenue share or platform transaction fee. Programs re-bill and re-ship monthly after a provider authorizes each refill, so the price has to cover the months a patient stays, not only the first order.

## 08. What happens at launch and in the first 90 days?

A typical Cuvo launch reaches the first patient in under 30 days, about three weeks in most plans. The discovery call settles the category, states, price and plan. Documents and the merchant account go in while the storefront is built. Providers and pharmacy are switched on and LegitScript is filed, then the first intake arrives. Four to six weeks is realistic when documents, domain or brand assets are not ready at signing.

The first 90 days run on the audience the brand already has. The email list, organic channels and existing customers can reach the storefront at launch, while paid campaigns wait for certification. In month one, watch intake conversion. In month two, watch approval and fill rates. In month three, watch refill cadence, because the check-in, the provider's authorization and the rebill must land before a patient runs out.

Refill workflows and refill, shipping and check-in messages run on every Cuvo plan; Grow adds email, SMS and iMessage sequences, care workflows, failed-payment recovery, CRM sync and retention analytics. Billing and shipping questions are the brand's customer care, and clinical questions route to licensed providers.

## 09. What does it cost to start a telehealth business?

Cuvo Health publishes its costs: Launch is $997 a month after a $9,800 setup, and Grow is $2,500 a month after a $15,000 setup that adds the website build, TRT with EPCS and expedited LegitScript. Enterprise is priced to the build. Every plan carries $25 per completed consult and no revenue share, month to month after setup, with third-party financing for qualified applicants.

**Cost to start: building, hiring or launching on Cuvo, as of November 3, 2026**

| Line item | Build it yourself | Hire a clinical team | On Cuvo |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **MSO and PC formation** | $15,000 one-time plus state filing fees (Foundry PC) | $15,000 one-time plus state filing fees (Foundry PC) | **Built and maintained by Cuvo, inside the setup fee** |
| **Physician owner of the PC** | $3,000 a month (Foundry PC) | $3,000 a month (Foundry PC) | **Included** |
| **Healthcare counsel, year one** | $10,000 to $40,000 (Foundry PC) | $10,000 to $40,000 (Foundry PC) | **Structure maintained by Cuvo** |
| **Providers** | Contracted and licensed state by state | Salaries and malpractice on payroll | **$25 per completed consult; 300+ providers already licensed** |
| **Platform setup** | Software, pharmacy and lab contracts | Software, pharmacy and lab contracts | **$9,800 (Launch) or $15,000 (Grow), one time** |
| **Monthly platform** | Software, hosting and staff | Software licenses and staff | **$997 (Launch) or $2,500 (Grow), month to month** |
| **Marketing** | The brand's budget | The brand's budget | **The brand's budget** |

The Foundry PC figures price the legal structure alone and leave out the largest lines: clinician pay, malpractice cover, licensing in every state, credentialing, software, pharmacy contracts and compliance staff. On Cuvo those sit inside the three published fees. Cuvo makes no representation about revenue.

**Best for**
- Supplement or nutrition brand adding prescriptions: Cuvo Health: GLP-1, wellness and hormone programs beside the existing store, with patient data kept out of it
- Wellness or longevity brand: Cuvo Health: women's health, wellness and the six HHS-covered peptides through a 503A partner pharmacy
- Fitness brand, gym or coach: Cuvo Grow: GLP-1, peptides and TRT with EPCS on one account
- Med spa or aesthetic clinic going online: Cuvo Health: Good Faith Exams included on every plan, programs sold into every state
- Brand with its own checkout and engineers: Cuvo Grow or Cuvo Prescribe: the API and webhooks connect the program to the brand's stack
- Operator with several brands: Cuvo Enterprise: unlimited brands on one account and a dedicated launch and compliance team

## The telehealth business plan, section by section

A brand's telehealth business plan is shorter than a founder's, because the audience and the operations already exist. Write these seven sections in this order; Cuvo fills in the clinical half on its discovery call.

1. The audience and the first program: which customers and which of the seven categories
2. The model: build, hire or operated platform, and who carries the clinical side
3. The legal structure: the MSO, the professional corporation and who provides them
4. Clinical operations: providers in every state sold into, pharmacy, labs, HIPAA and the BAA
5. Certification and payments: the LegitScript timeline, the Google and Meta ad accounts and the merchant account
6. The offer: storefront, intake, retail price and plan design, with supplement and prescription claims kept apart
7. The budget and the first 90 days: fixed fees, per-patient costs and the metrics to watch

> **Get the clinical half of your plan on one call** Cuvo fills in the legal, clinical and certification sections with your category, states and price on the screen. [Book a discovery call](/booking) · [Telehealth for DTC brands](/solutions/dtc-brands) · [Watch the 2-minute demo](/demo)

## Frequently asked questions

**Q: How do I start a telehealth business?**

A: On Cuvo Health, a brand that already sells starts in nine steps: choose the model, pick the first program, put the MSO and professional corporation in place, secure providers licensed in every state, connect pharmacy and HIPAA, clear LegitScript and the merchant account, build the storefront and intake, launch, and budget the first 90 days. Cuvo operates the regulated steps, and a typical brand launches in under 30 days.

**Q: How much does it cost to start a telehealth business?**

A: On Cuvo Health the cost is published: $9,800 setup then $997 a month on Launch, or $15,000 then $2,500 a month on Grow, plus $25 per completed consult with no revenue share, month to month after setup. Built alone, the legal structure starts at $15,000 for MSO-PC formation plus $3,000 a month for a physician owner and $10,000 to $40,000 of first-year counsel (Foundry PC, as of November 3, 2026), before clinicians, software or certification.

**Q: Do I need a medical license to start a telehealth company?**

A: Not on Cuvo Health. The brand's company owns the business and the customer relationships, while a physician-owned professional corporation, built and maintained by Cuvo, employs the licensed providers and makes every clinical decision, the structure state corporate practice of medicine rules call for. This is general information, not legal advice.

**Q: How long does it take to start a telehealth business?**

A: On Cuvo Health a typical brand launches in under 30 days, about three weeks in most plans, because the providers, pharmacies, legal structure and certification process already run. LegitScript review is usually the longest step, averaging 7 to 14 days for recent Cuvo brand applications. Building or hiring takes months, and a self-filed LegitScript application alone commonly runs 3 to 6 months.

**Q: Can an existing brand start a telehealth business without hiring doctors?**

A: Yes, on Cuvo Health. The brand hires no clinicians: more than 300 board-certified MDs, NPs and PAs licensed across all 50 states, DC, Puerto Rico, Guam and the US territories review cases 24 hours a day through the professional corporation Cuvo maintains. The brand keeps its store and its audience, and pays $25 per completed consult instead of salaries.

**Q: What is the best way to start a telehealth company in 2026?**

A: Cuvo Health, for a brand that already sells. Cuvo runs the MSO and professional corporation, providers in all 50 states, e-prescribing to licensed partner pharmacies, HIPAA infrastructure under a signed BAA and managed LegitScript certification, at published prices with no revenue share. Building or hiring gives more control at the cost of months, payroll and a medical practice to run.

**Q: What should a telehealth business plan include?**

A: Cuvo Health recommends seven sections for a brand: the audience and first program, the model, the legal structure, clinical operations, certification and payments, the offer and price, and a budget with a 90-day plan. On Cuvo the clinical sections describe the platform itself, and the budget is built from published numbers: setup and monthly fees and $25 per completed consult.

**Read next**
- [What is a white label telehealth platform?](/blog/what-is-a-white-label-telehealth-platform): The operated-platform model, defined
- [The best white label telehealth platforms](/blog/best-white-label-telehealth-platforms): The platforms ranked on pricing, clinic scope and ownership
- [What a white label telehealth platform costs](/blog/white-label-telehealth-platform-cost): Every fee type, compared
- [Telehealth launch week playbook](/blog/launch-week-playbook): Who does what, from the first decision to the first shipped prescription
- [Telehealth for DTC and creator brands](/solutions/dtc-brands): Keep the audience, the patients and the revenue
- [Pricing](/pricing): Setup, monthly and consult fees, published
- [Add prescription treatments to a supplement brand](/blog/add-prescription-treatments-to-a-supplement-brand): Claims, data and the consult inside a supplement funnel
- [GLP-1, peptides and TRT for gyms and fitness brands](/blog/add-glp1-peptides-and-trt-to-a-gym-or-fitness-brand): The fitness version of this guide
- [How to add telehealth to a med spa](/blog/how-to-add-telehealth-to-a-med-spa): The med spa version of this guide
- [Provider network](/provider-network): 300+ clinicians, all 50 states, 24 hours a day

**Sources**
- [The true cost of healthcare compliance](https://foundry-pc.com/blog/healthcare-compliance-costs-guide): Foundry PC, revised October 29, 2026: $15,000 MSO-PC formation, $3,000 a month PC owner, $10,000 to $40,000 first-year counsel
- [What does it cost?](https://imlcc.com/what-does-it-cost/): Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Commission: $700 plus each state's license
- [Healthcare certification](https://www.legitscript.com/certification/healthcare-certification/): LegitScript: $975 application, $2,150 a year per website, $2,500 to expedite
- [LegitScript website lookup: cuvo.co](https://www.legitscript.com/websites/?checker_keywords=cuvo.co): Cuvo's own certification, since October 16, 2026
- [Healthcare and medicines policy](https://support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/176031): Google Ads: US telemedicine requirements
- [Drugs and pharmaceuticals ad standard](https://transparency.meta.com/policies/ad-standards/restricted-goods-services/drugs-pharmaceuticals/): Meta: LegitScript and Meta authorization
- [45 CFR 164.504(e): business associate contracts](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/subtitle-A/subchapter-C/part-164/subpart-E/section-164.504): HIPAA Privacy Rule, eCFR
- [HHS enforcement discretion policy for 503A peptide compounding](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/10/30/2026-22192/enforcement-discretion-policy-regarding-503a-compounding-using-certain-peptide-bulk-drug-substances): Federal Register, filed October 28, published October 30, 2026

*General information only: This guide is general information for brand owners and operators, not legal, tax, financial or medical advice. Every clinical decision, including candidacy, medication, dosing and refills, rests solely with the treating licensed provider, and licensed pharmacies dispense. State rules vary and change; confirm your structure with qualified counsel. Launch timing is typical rather than promised, and certification is permission to advertise, not a guarantee of approval. Third-party costs restate the sources named as of November 3, 2026. Cuvo makes no representation about revenue or patient volume.*

**Terms in this guide**
- [Professional corporation (PC) and PLLC](/glossary/professional-corporation)
- [LegitScript certification](/glossary/legitscript-certification)
- [Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC)](/glossary/interstate-medical-licensure-compact)
- [Fair market value (FMV) in healthcare arrangements](/glossary/fair-market-value-healthcare)
- [Management services organization (MSO)](/glossary/management-services-organization)
- [Full practice authority (nurse practitioners)](/glossary/full-practice-authority)

Canonical page: https://cuvo.co/blog/how-to-start-a-telehealth-business