Online Mental Health Treatment in Minnesota How Sesame Care, Hims, and Hers Compare in 2026

If you are searching for online mental health treatment in Minnesota, you are working with a shorter list than residents in some other states. Three platforms are available to you right now: Sesame Care, Hims, and Hers. Nurx, which shows up in some telehealth roundups, does not operate in Minnesota, so you can cross that one off immediately. That leaves you with a clear field to compare, and the differences between these three platforms matter more than most generic guides will tell you.

Minnesota has a relatively functional telehealth regulatory environment for psychiatric care. The state follows standard federal rules, which means most non-controlled psychiatric medications, including SSRIs like sertraline and escitalopram, SNRIs like venlafaxine and duloxetine, and medications like buspirone, hydroxyzine, bupropion, and trazodone, can all be prescribed to you via telehealth without an in-person visit. What cannot happen online is getting a stimulant prescription for ADHD. Adderall, Ritalin, and similar controlled substances require an in-person evaluation under DEA rules, and that applies in Minnesota just as it does across the country. If ADHD treatment is what you are after, every platform on this list will tell you the same thing.

Minnesota also has one of the stronger mental health parity enforcement records among Midwestern states, which matters when you are trying to figure out whether your insurance will actually cover telehealth therapy or a psychiatry visit. More on that below. For now, the short version is that if you have Minnesota-based insurance, you have a reasonable shot at coverage, but you still need to verify it with each specific platform before you assume anything is free.

Before getting into the details of each platform, here is where things stand on verified review scores. Hims holds the highest rating of the three at 9.0 out of 10, based on 34,200 verified reviews. Hers follows at 8.8 out of 10 from 29,800 verified reviews. Sesame Care sits at 8.7 out of 10 across 25,400 verified reviews and carries the designation of top choice for Minnesota residents.

Those scores are close enough that ratings alone should not drive your decision. What matters more is which platform fits how you want to pay, what condition you are treating, and whether you are male, female, or prefer a platform with no gender-specific framing. Hims is built for men, Hers for women, and Sesame Care is gender-neutral. All three cover mental health, but they came to it from different directions, and that affects how they handle your care.

Sesame Care operates as a transparent-pricing marketplace, which means you are booking individual appointments with licensed providers rather than signing up for a monthly plan. For Minnesota residents who are not sure whether they want ongoing care or just want a single evaluation to see where they stand, this model has real advantages. You are not locked into anything. You pay for what you use.

The marketplace model also means Sesame Care covers a broad range of specialties. If you need a therapist for CBT or DBT, you can find one. If you want a prescriber who can evaluate you for an antidepressant or anxiety medication, that is available too. Because providers set their own prices and compete within the marketplace, costs tend to be lower than what you would pay at a traditional in-person clinic in Minneapolis or Saint Paul without insurance. Psychiatric and therapy visits through Sesame Care often run significantly below the $200 to $300 range that uninsured Minnesotans typically pay out of pocket for in-person care.

Sesame Care does not accept insurance in the traditional sense, but it does accept HSA and FSA funds, which many Minnesota residents have through employer benefits. If you have a high-deductible health plan through a Minnesota employer, your HSA dollars can offset what you spend here. The platform is designated as the top choice for Minnesota residents in this guide specifically because the pay-per-visit model gives you flexibility that subscription services do not, and the pricing transparency means you know what you are paying before you book.

Hims started as a men's health platform covering erectile dysfunction and hair loss, but its mental health offering has expanded substantially. For Minnesota men dealing with depression or anxiety, Hims gives you access to prescribers who can evaluate you and, if appropriate, prescribe medications like sertraline, escitalopram, fluoxetine, venlafaxine, duloxetine, buspirone, or bupropion. Hims leans heavily on generic medications, which keeps costs low. If you are paying out of pocket, generic sertraline through Hims costs considerably less than a brand-name equivalent at a pharmacy, and Hims prices its prescriptions with that affordability in mind.

The Hims mobile experience is one of the strongest in this category. If you are the kind of person who wants to manage everything from your phone, including messaging your provider, refilling prescriptions, and tracking your care, Hims is built for that workflow. Appointments can happen via video or asynchronous messaging depending on your preference and what your provider allows. For an initial psychiatric evaluation in Minnesota, you will typically complete a detailed intake assessment online before speaking with a provider.

Hims does accept insurance for some services, though coverage varies. Minnesota residents should verify their specific plan before assuming coverage applies to mental health visits or medication through Hims. The platform's highest rating of 9.0 out of 10 reflects strong satisfaction across its full user base, not just its mental health category, so keep that in mind as context. For men in Minnesota who want affordable generic medications and a clean mobile experience, Hims is worth serious consideration.

Hers is the sister platform to Hims, and it focuses on women's health including birth control, hair loss, weight management, and mental health. For Minnesota women who want a platform that integrates these areas rather than treating mental health as a standalone service, Hers offers something the other two platforms do not. If you are dealing with anxiety or depression that feels connected to hormonal changes, postpartum experiences, or other health factors, having a platform designed with those intersections in mind can make a difference in how your care is framed and delivered.

On the medication side, Hers covers the same core medications available elsewhere in Minnesota via telehealth: SSRIs, SNRIs, buspirone, bupropion, hydroxyzine, and trazodone. Therapy is also available, with providers offering CBT and DBT approaches. Hers operates on a subscription model for many of its services, which contrasts with Sesame Care's pay-per-visit approach. If you want consistent monthly access to a prescriber or therapist without rebooking each time, the subscription model can actually lower your per-visit cost over time.

Hers holds an 8.8 out of 10 rating from nearly 30,000 verified reviews, which puts it solidly in the same range as the other two Minnesota options. Insurance acceptance follows similar rules as Hims: possible but not guaranteed, and worth a direct check with your Minnesota insurer before counting on it. HSA and FSA funds are accepted. For Minnesota women who want mental health care that fits into a broader wellness framework, Hers is the most purpose-built option on this list.

This is the question that drives a lot of searches, and the answer in Minnesota is straightforward. For depression, you can get sertraline (generic Zoloft), escitalopram (generic Lexapro), and fluoxetine (generic Prozac) via telehealth from any of the three providers on this list. These are first-line SSRIs and can be prescribed after a remote evaluation without any in-person visit requirement. For anxiety with a physical component, hydroxyzine and buspirone are both prescribable via telehealth and are non-controlled, which matters for how easily providers will prescribe them remotely.

For depression where SSRIs are not working well, SNRIs like venlafaxine (Effexor) and duloxetine (Cymbalta) are available via telehealth in Minnesota. Bupropion, which covers depression and also helps with smoking cessation, is accessible remotely too. Trazodone, often used for sleep difficulties that accompany depression and anxiety, can also be prescribed via telehealth. None of these require the in-person hurdle that ADHD stimulants require.

Here is where Minnesota residents need clear expectations: if you are searching for online ADHD treatment in Minnesota hoping to get Adderall or Ritalin without an in-person visit, that is not going to happen through any of these three platforms. Federal DEA rules require a physical evaluation for stimulant prescriptions, and that rule applies in Minnesota. Non-stimulant ADHD approaches exist, and some providers can discuss those remotely, but the stimulant prescriptions that most people with ADHD are looking for require you to see someone in person first. If you have an existing prescription from a Minnesota provider and need refills, the telehealth rules around that are slightly different, and you should ask your specific platform about continuity-of-care policies.

Minnesota has a strong mental health parity law that requires insurers to cover mental health treatment on the same terms as physical health treatment. That law applies to most commercial insurance plans issued in Minnesota, including plans through large Minnesota employers and plans purchased through MNsure, the state's insurance marketplace. What this means in practice is that your insurer cannot apply a higher deductible or stricter limits to therapy or psychiatric visits than they do to, say, a primary care appointment or a specialist visit.

However, parity law does not guarantee that a specific telehealth platform is in-network with your plan. Sesame Care, Hims, and Hers each have different insurance relationships, and these change over time. The safest approach is to contact your insurance company directly, tell them you are considering a specific telehealth platform for mental health care, and ask whether providers on that platform are considered in-network or out-of-network under your plan. If they are out-of-network, ask what your out-of-network mental health benefit looks like, because many Minnesota commercial plans have one.

For Minnesota residents on Medical Assistance (the state's Medicaid program) or MinnesotaCare, coverage through these three platforms is less straightforward. These public programs have their own telehealth coverage rules, and acceptance varies by platform. If you are on Medical Assistance or MinnesotaCare, call the platform directly before signing up to confirm whether they accept your coverage or whether you will be paying out of pocket. The good news is that all three platforms are priced below typical in-person clinic rates even without insurance, and all accept HSA and FSA funds for those who have them.

Minnesota has a well-documented shortage of mental health providers outside of the Twin Cities metro. If you are in Bemidji, Fergus Falls, Worthington, or any number of rural Minnesota communities, the nearest in-person psychiatrist might be 60, 90, or even 120 miles away. The wait times for community mental health centers in greater Minnesota can stretch months. This is not a hypothetical concern. It is why telehealth mental health searches in Minnesota skew heavily toward rural zip codes.

All three platforms on this list serve you regardless of where in Minnesota you are located. A broadband connection is the main requirement, and while Minnesota still has rural broadband gaps, coverage has expanded enough that most residents can access video-based telehealth from home. If your connection is slow or inconsistent, Hims and Hers both offer asynchronous communication options where you can message a provider and receive responses without a synchronous video call. Sesame Care's model typically uses video appointments, so a stable connection matters more there.

For Minnesota residents in greater Minnesota specifically, the practical calculus is different than it is for someone in Minneapolis. In the metro, telehealth is a convenience. In Redwood Falls or International Falls, it is often the only realistic option that does not involve taking half a day off work and driving significant distances. That context should shape how you evaluate these platforms. The subscription model of Hims or Hers might make more sense if you need consistent monthly contact with a prescriber, because rebooking through a marketplace when you have no other options nearby is still a better experience than driving to a clinic hours away.

If you want the cheapest path to a single evaluation or prescription without a subscription commitment, Sesame Care is your answer. The pay-per-visit model means you are not paying for anything you are not using, and the marketplace pricing in Minnesota tends to be lower than what you would pay at an urgent care or traditional clinic without insurance. Sesame Care is designated as the top choice for Minnesota residents for this reason.

If you are a man looking for a polished mobile experience, affordable generic medications, and the highest-rated platform on this list, Hims is the right pick. The 9.0 rating across more than 34,000 reviews is hard to argue with, and the generic pricing for medications like sertraline and escitalopram keeps long-term costs down. If you are a woman who wants mental health care that connects to broader health concerns like birth control or weight management, or if postpartum mental health is relevant to your situation, Hers is built for that.

One practical note: there is no rule preventing you from using more than one platform in sequence. Some Minnesota residents start with Sesame Care for an initial evaluation to understand what medication or therapy approach is right for them, then move to a subscription-based platform like Hims or Hers for ongoing care. That is a legitimate approach, and the per-visit model of Sesame Care makes it low-risk as a starting point. Whatever you choose, the key step is verifying your insurance situation before your first appointment so you know exactly what you will pay.