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Innovator Updates

January

December 2023

Introducing Firefly Nearby™, our proprietary network of clinics and in-home partners for delivering hands-on primary care nationwide, complementing our team-based advanced primary care.

Firefly Nearby™ is our unique hybrid approach allowing employers to implement Firefly as a virtual-first, value-based PCP with hands-on care whenever needed – thereby providing the same high-quality care across an entire US workforce. Our nationwide network of Firefly Nearby™ partners includes urgent care, retail clinics, in-home and mobile providers, and at-home testing for examinations, lab work-ups, point-of-care (POC) testing, and minor procedures. Firefly Nearby™ complements our 50-state access virtual care to fulfill the scope equivalent to a brick-and-mortar clinic.

In contrast to traditional office-based PCPs and DPC clinics, this approach creates greater flexibility, scalability and convenience as members are not limited to a specific location and have access nationwide. With 2000+ clinic locations, and convenient in-home providers, the heterogeneity of options provides members with care better tailored to their needs, and preferences. For example, through mobile and in-home care, we lessen transportation disparities for those living in rural areas, those who do not have reliable transportation, those who are not able-bodied or ill, and even those who simply prefer the convenience. After any hands-on care, the member’s dedicated Firefly care team follows up with the results and any action plan, closing the loop to provide continuous care, all from the same team.

Our baseline Firefly Nearby™ partners provide 82.7% coverage of the US population within 15 miles. For our employer clients, Firefly also provides customized network analysis, and Firefly Nearby network density strengthening in your key markets to provide even greater ability to scale our hands-on care access.

Embold Health is excited to share new data insights. Embold knows that giving your employees quality healthcare isn’t just a solid strategy for your benefits ecosystem—it’s the right gameplan for your business. Let’s look at worker productivity. Over $225 billion is lost annually when employees are out on medical leave. Low-quality care, in other words, can mean more upfront expense, higher complication rates, and longer time away from work. This is the unspoken affordability crisis facing employers and employees.

When you realize that unnecessary care accounts for nearly $210 billion of the ~$750 billion excess annual healthcare spend, it’s important to look at the quality of doctors your employees see.

Take cardiology for example – for an employee with heart issues in Berkeley, CA, the likelihood of having an inappropriate heart surgery depends on their cardiologist. With a lower-evaluated doctor, you are 6% more likely to have a PCI/heart catheterization. Such a drastic procedure can have long-term impacts on productivity in addition to overall claims cost for your organization.

The takeaway: Avoiding low-quality providers and unnecessary care can yield significant savings. Embold Health achieves better health outcomes and cost savings for employees through provider quality insights, guidance on physician choices, and a personalized member experience. Our solutions give members an easy way to find the best doctors through independent, objective data and a focus on patient outcomes. When we measure what matters and work together to share the right data with the right people, we can transform healthcare.

CirrusMD has launched a new care delivery model: Physician-first Care & Guidance. The new solution provides members with always-on, instantly available access to a doctor that's as easy as texting a friend. CirrusMD's multidisciplinary clinical team is armed with instant access to employer benefits as well as in-network cost and quality tools for informed guidance that happens seamlessly at the point of care.

Having conducted over 50 million chats across 10 million members for some of the country’s best-known brands, CirrusMD has evolved virtual primary care to deliver the highest quality, most cost-effective care and guide patients across benefit resources and clinical settings.

With Physician-first Care & Guidance, CirrusMD has:

Delivered care on the patient's terms (when, where, and how they want to engage with a doctor).
Eliminated barriers to care (time, distance, technology, and intermediaries) so patients connect directly and immediately.
Inserted health and benefits data directly into the patient-physician conversation through an automated workflow.
Ensured that all in-network referrals are delivered through a lens of data-driven cost and quality.
Completed the care team by providing health coaches to help break down barriers, close the care loop, and improve care plan adherence.

Placing the physician first and giving them the tools and information they need changes the entire care journey – making for a more streamlined, less fragmented, better care experience for everyone, including self-insured employers.

October 2023

Analytics Navigator: Discover a Deeper Path to Your Data Destination

Benefits leaders look to their data as their compass - helping point them in the right direction and easily navigate the path to the answers they need. But when you want to dive deeper into your data, you may find that you don’t have the skillset to build complex queries or the understanding of which areas to explore.

Do any of these sound familiar?

Some of your questions require in-depth, challenging, and time-consuming analysis
You don’t always know exactly what you are looking for
What you want to visualize requires tools you don’t have access to

Analytics Navigator is a suite of dynamic and interactive tools that helps take your data exploration to the next level – with just a few quick clicks:

Explore multiple levels of analysis through interactive and dynamic drill path capabilities, all from point-and-click functionality
Access intuitive platform-based guidance for analyzing drivers of spend, trend, and utilization; easily click and dive into the details of the sub-drivers that interest you
Drill deeper and explore the path of trend drivers to develop strategies that minimize costs and/or enhance health outcomes
Effortlessly find answers and download views directly to a presentation format, complete with visualizations

To see how you can gain deeper insights on recommended actions, including pre-defined, easily drillable data analysis around action items such as condition management, drug management, and financial risk, check out the use cases here.

October 2023

Health at Scale (HaS) is constantly innovating to improve our impact on employer cost containment efforts. We recently launched an NP/RN outreach service to proactively engage members at rising risk of a health exacerbation. HaS’s advanced AI continuously monitors the population and uncovers members with (1) unaddressed health conditions and treatment gaps, (2) visits to suboptimal providers, or (3) repeated instances of low-value or abusive care, for direct outreach.

In addition to HaS’ previously presented fraud, waste, and abuse (FWA) avoidance through pre-pay flagging and audits, reduction of inappropriate care can also be affected through direct outreach and member-facing digital tools because:

Approximately 30% of the inappropriate care that HaS uncovers is recurrent, with vulnerable members repeatedly receiving inappropriate care, creating an opportunity for avoidance through outreach to members
FWA flagged by HaS is concentrated to 1% of providers in network, reiterating the importance of provider choice in member care

With a significant concentration of low-value care driven by a subset of members and providers, wasteful services can be avoided by directing members away from providers performing these services. Savings and outcomes improvement are further multiplied by not just avoiding abusive providers, but also by directing members to hyper-personalized provider matches well suited to members’ unique health characteristics, particularly for specialists and procedures.

HaS continues to apply its expertise in deeply context-aware machine learning applications to optimize care delivery through both the avoidance of low value care and guidance to high value care personalized to each individual member’s needs.

Throughout 2023 we’ve continued our rapid growth trajectory at Employer Direct Healthcare, but first and foremost have stayed focused on serving our clients on the promises we’ve made. So far this year we’ve launched our new product (Cancer Care Direct) with strong results and high engagement numbers, brought on several enterprise clients growing to support nearly 5 million member lives with SurgeryPlus, while expanding and adding new industry partners.

We’ve continued to stay focused on delivery for our clients, which has resulted in clients seeing even greater engagement and usage of the SurgeryPlus benefit than ever before. EHIR member-clients such as The Home Depot and Vericast have more than doubled first year expectations. We’re proud to have 11 EHIR clients and look forward to adding more before end of year.

To add to that excitement, SurgeryPlus is now available through the United Healthcare vendor Hub. UHC clients can now contract with SurgeryPlus through a simple addendum to their existing UHC contract, avoiding the challenges of executing a separate contract. This is a simple, effective way for employers to reduce cost of care, deliver material savings to the business and affordability for employees, while significantly improving access to quality care. More detailed information is available on EDHC.com.

We proudly continue to add reputable talent and inspiration to our growing organization. These strategic leaders bring with them experience from highly regarded companies such as One Medical, Virgin Pulse, KindBody, Progyny, and HCA. We’re thrilled to welcome Jamie McLeod (Chief Growth Officer), Seth Garrison (Chief Transformation Officer), Joe Edwards (VP, Network Development).

As we look to close out 2023, there are several exciting new updates on the horizon as we continue of focus our dedication to transforming access to excellent care in the surgery and cancer sectors.

June 2023

MSK Direct, the national employer cancer benefits solution that provides equitable and personalized access to the lifesaving discoveries and subspecialized expertise of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), is launching Enhanced Virtual Oncology Services in Q2 2023. This program enhancement comes as a result from ongoing feedback from MSK Direct’s 200+ employer clients, who identified the need to have additional digital tools and psychosocial support to help employees facing a cancer diagnosis, no matter where they live. MSK Direct will be launching an MSK Direct app, claims-based outreach, and dedicated cancer coaches as part of this new release.

The MSK Direct App features comprehensive care plan tracking, biometric data monitoring, and timely educational resources. Additionally, it brings members access to dedicated cancer care coaches that can provide them and their caregivers psychosocial support on matters like nutrition, financial counseling, social work, and oncology nursing. Users are now able initiate Virtual Expert Medical Opinions within the app and receive detailed care plans created by MSK’s subspecialized oncologist from the comfort of their home.

Employers can also partner with MSK Direct to proactively engage members facing a cancer diagnosis who could benefit from leading comprehensive cancer resources. As a result of these new services, MSK Direct expects that employers can attain even greater value in cancer care by improving member experience and quality, while avoiding unnecessary care and costs.

For more information, please contact MSK Direct at +1 (646) 449-2700, email us at mskdirectinfo@mskcc.org or view our website at mskcc.org/mskdirect.

June 2023

Progyny’s fertility and family building solution is proven to consistently deliver healthier pregnancies and babies, happier employees, and cost-savings for employers.

That’s why when a leading technology company needed to modernize their existing fertility and family building benefits to deliver an equitable solution for their diverse workforce, they turned to Progyny.

Prior to Progyny, the company had a dollar cap benefit in place, where members had up to a certain amount of money, regardless of where they lived, or the treatments needed. This plan was inequitable and drove unintentional negative impacts, as it incentivized cost-based rather than value-based care decisions. The plan resulted in the company spending millions annually on maternal and neonatal costs.

Progyny’s equitable and inclusive benefit helped remove barriers to care and make fertility treatment and family building a more empowering and supported process for the company’s members. With Progyny’s Smart Cycle design, members are encouraged to make evidence-based care decisions with their providers, resulting in better outcomes.

Progyny’s active network model allows clients to see actual utilization and outcomes for all members, meaning they can fully assess the value received from the Progyny benefit. Progyny’s outcomes reporting proved the benefit helped the company lower their NICU claims and achieve healthier pregnancies. Supporting data include:

IVF live birth rate 31% higher than the national average.
Miscarriage rate 20% lower than the national average.
Multiples rate 79% lower than the national average.

Learn more about the company’s cost-savings and successful member journeys thanks to the Progyny benefit.

Pelago: Quit Genius Reimagined for Comprehensive Substance Use Management

We are thrilled to share exciting news with our EHIR community - Quit Genius is now Pelago! Our rebranding is not just a name change; it signifies a strategic expansion of our vision and services. Today, Pelago offers a comprehensive solution that spans the full spectrum of substance use care.

Pelago, formerly Quit Genius, is the world’s leading virtual clinic for substance use management. We are transforming substance use support—from prevention to treatment—delivering education, management skills, and opportunities for positive change to members struggling with substance use, most commonly tobacco, alcohol, or opioids.

Our solution gives employers and payers the means to offer on-demand, personalized support to members seeking to live healthier lives. Pelago’s cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and medication-assisted treatment (MAT) programs deliver convenient, accessible, and effective support that seamlessly integrates with health plans, pharmacy benefit managers, and wellness platforms. Pelago has helped more than 750,000 members manage their substance use and improve their lives.

We're excited to continue our journey as Pelago, transforming substance use care and delivering value to employers and health plans. We invite the EHIR community to explore our newly rebranded solution and look forward to a future of healthier workplaces. See more here: https://vimeo.com/pelagohealth

Transcarent is proud to be the one place to go for health and care, as we continue to improve access to high-quality and affordable care.

As part of that mission, Transcarent's highlights include the acquisition of the 98point6 care platform and business. 98point6 is the industry leading AI-powered virtual care experience, to create a personalized text-based telehealth solution for patients. This also includes the addition of roughly 150 new employees and access to the affiliated medical group. But what makes this truly significant is that it will make Transcarent the most comprehensive solution for Employers and health plans to meet more than 90 percent of an individual’s health and care needs.

High-quality care extends beyond a collection of solutions, and it shouldn’t break the bank for consumers or their employers. Health and care experiences should be easy, connected, and simple to understand. And most importantly, personalized.

The vision for Transcarent has been and will continue to focus on making it easy for people to access high-quality, affordable care. Healthcare is complex. That’s the problem. We make it simple by putting everything you need in one place and accessible 24/7.

Transcarent is truly creating an integrated health and care experience for health consumers that puts them in charge of their care. We call that consumer directed care.

May 2023

We created Brightside Financial Care, a new category in employee benefits, because traditional financial wellness solutions don’t work. By providing unbiased human support and solutions that address immediate financial needs and contribute to longer-term financial health, Financial Care is the only model designed to support the 70% of Americans living paycheck to paycheck. We are so confident in Financial Care that we are willing to put 100% of our fees at risk against metrics our customers use to gauge success.

Amid the backdrop of a looming recession, persistent inflation, and a continually challenging labor market for employers, the past year proved that Brightside Financial Care drives ROI.

Brightside grew more than 10x in 2022 and is implemented into Fortune 100 companies. Why? Progressive employers realize that driving ROI requires a real solution for employees’ financial stress and the attrition, absenteeism, healthcare costs, increased use of disability benefits, and other dents to the bottom line it causes. In 2022, Brightside’s approach drove recruiting costs down by reducing turnover by more than 50%, and put nearly $10 million back into the pockets of participating employees. Employees who used Brightside to reduce credit card debt did so 3x faster than non-participants, and we enabled a 34% reduction in employees with subprime credit scores.

In 2022, we grew our headcount more than 150%. We’re on our way to hiring 200 more employees in 2023, to further our mission of improving the financial health of working families. Learn more about Brightside in this two-minute video.

May 2023

A new analysis of MarketScan commercial claims data* from GRAIL examined some of the root causes of employers’ #1 medical cost driver: cancer. The research showed that 74% of employees’ diagnosed cancers are not supported by recommended screenings.1 These include some of the most deadly cancers like pancreatic, ovarian, liver and stomach cancers.1 The study focused on employees above age 50, who have a 13X higher risk of developing cancer versus younger employees.2 Further key findings from this real-world claims analysis included:

More than 1 in 4 employees over 50 face metastatic cancer diagnoses1
83% of high-cost cancer claims above $100k are for cancers without recommended screening1
51% of employers’ direct cancer spend is on treatment for metastatic cancers1

The research also showed that multi-cancer early detection tests like the Galleri® test, which can detect a shared cancer signal across more than 50 types of cancer with a simple blood draw, can have significant impact on both employers and employees.3 By offering the Galleri® test to eligible employees, modeled data showed potential for a reduction in cancer spend - 11% reduction in total medical spend on employees with cancer, and 21% reduction in direct medical spend on employees with metastatic diagnoses.1,4,+

Learn more at www.galleri.com/employers/learn-more

The Galleri test does not detect a signal for all cancers and not all cancers can be detected in the blood.

False positive and false negative signal results do occur.

*The IBM® MarketScan® Research Databases provide one of the longest-running and largest collections of proprietary de-identified claims data for privately and publicly insured people in the US. The data presented result from two separate analyses of medical claims (direct costs) and employment data (productivity and indirect costs) of 10,000,000 enrollees covered by large employers and on commercial insurance plans in the US from 2014-2021. The data presented here is focused on employees and dependents (“members”) aged 50 and up unless otherwise noted. When examining “screenable cancers”, we did not include prostate (which is no longer recommended by the US Preventive Services Task Force) or lung (due to extremely low compliance rates for current and former smokers). The analyses were conducted in 2022 by GRAIL’s Health Economics and Outcomes Research team.

+Results based on modeled data, with an earlier version of Galleri added to usual care, and costs analyzed by GRAIL.

Important Safety Information. The Galleri test is recommended for use in adults with an elevated risk for cancer, such as those aged 50 or older. The Galleri test does not detect all cancers and should be used in addition to routine cancer screening tests recommended by a healthcare provider. Galleri is intended to detect cancer signals and predict where in the body the cancer signal is located. Use of Galleri is not recommended in individuals who are pregnant, 21 years old or younger, or undergoing active cancer treatment. Results should be interpreted by a healthcare provider in the context of medical history, clinical signs and symptoms. A test result of “No Cancer Signal Detected” does not rule out cancer. A test result of “Cancer Signal Detected” requires confirmatory diagnostic evaluation by medically established procedures (e.g. imaging) to confirm cancer. If cancer is not confirmed with further testing, it could mean that cancer is not present or testing was insufficient to detect cancer, including due to the cancer being located in a different part of the body. False-positive (a cancer signal detected when cancer is not present) and false-negative (a cancer signal not detected when cancer is present) test results do occur. Rx only.

Laboratory/Test Information. GRAIL’s clinical laboratory is certified under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) and accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP). The Galleri test was developed, and its performance characteristics were determined by GRAIL. The Galleri test has not been cleared or approved by the Food and Drug Administration. GRAIL’s clinical laboratory is regulated under CLIA to perform high-complexity testing. The Galleri test is intended for clinical purposes.

________________________________________________________________________

1. Analysis of MarketScan claims database completed by GRAIL, LLC, July 2022. Data on file GA-2022-0085

2. Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program (www.seer.cancer.gov) SEER*Stat Database Incidence - SEER Research Limited-Field Data, 21 Registries, Nov 2020 Sub (2000-2018) - Linked To County Attributes -Time Dependent (1990-2018) Income/Rurality, 1969-2019 Counties, National Cancer Institute, DCCPS, Surveillance Research Program, released April 2021, based on the November 2020 submission. Risk Factor Data on file: American Cancer Society Cancer Prevention Studies II/III

3. Klein EA, Richards D, Cohn A, et al. Clinical validation of a targeted methylation-based multi-cancer early detection test using an independent validation set. Ann Oncol. 2021;32(9):1167-1177. doi: 10.1016/j.annonc.2021.05.806.

4. Hubbell E, et al. Modeled reductions in late-stage cancer with a multi-cancer early detection test. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2021;30(3):460-468. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-20-1134.

Modern Health is thrilled to share updates on how we are creating new modalities of care to increare access for people across the globe, prioritzing culturally centered care and empowering employers to be change agents in workplace mental health.

Alumni Update: At Modern Health, we envision a world where mental health is a priority and a strength for all. To achieve this vision, over the past year, we’ve developed an abundance of new digital and interactive resources, expanded our global coverage, offered thought leadership and educational programming, and expanded access to care through innovative products. Our highlights include:

Expanded our global provider network by 13%, which includes coaches and therapists in 65+ countries and 55+ languages.
Introduced new digital content, including 52 meditations, 37 programs, 8 courses, a library of Soundscapes, and care content with tennis superstar Naomi Osaka.
Hosted 860 Community Circles throughout 2022, available in each major time zone. We have 98 Circles providers in 19+ countries speaking 23+ languages.
Optimized dependent access, providing a more intuitive and seamless experience for employees’ loved ones.
Enhanced self-guided resources and Circles to make finding content based on desired topics easier.

Get the mental health you deseve with Modern Health

Some exciting Parsley Health alumni updates to share since our EHIR debut:

EHIR member Xcel Energy launched Parsley Health as a benefit through Cigna this year to all employees, spouses and dependents 18+. We’re delivering root cause resolution medicine across the country!
Parsley Health's partnership with CVS Caremark Virtual Psoriasis Care pilot is available to select employers. Plaque psoriasis is an autoimmune condition that impacts more than 8 million people in the US. Parsley Health drives outcomes such as reduced medication utilization in people with autoimmune conditions by identifying and resolving the root cause of symptoms. EHIR member USFoods is participating and additional EHIR members in months to come.
Our collaboration with Progyny to deliver women’s whole health calle Progyny+ with Parsley Health is now available to employers. This program is the first comprehensive program that brings together world-class fertility, maternity, and postpartum support in addition to midlife, perimenopause and menopause program in one platform through a clinical-team led advanced primary care program.
Parsley Health is available to school districts across Arizona to address high cost chronic conditions like cardiometabolic, GI digestive and autoimmune with clinical care teams including provider, coach and care manager who delliver live virtual and asynchronous care.
Parsley Health is now in network with major insurers to reach 10 million patients in New York covered by Cigna, Empire BlueCross BlueShield, Emblem, United Freedom, United Oxford, Oscar, UMR Top Tier, Centivo or Aetna NY and in California covered by Aetna CA or Blue Shield CA.

End-to-End Pregnancy, Postpartum and Menopause Support

Our evidence-based Progyny Pregnancy and Postpartum and Progyny Menopause programs provide robust clinical programming, coaching, timely education, and digital companion tools. Progyny Pregnancy and Postpartum has the highest utilization of members navigating high-risk pregnancies on day 1, delivering much needed support to mitigate high-cost risks.

Holistic Primary Care through Progyny+

A proactive, preventative primary care program designed to support those with underlying health conditions such as PCOS, hormonal disorders, endometriosis, etc. from preconception through menopause. Progyny+ delivers much needed holistic primary care both in person and via telemedicine through a partnership with Parsley Health, resulting in faster time to pregnancy, reduced need for fertility treatments, and a healthier pregnancy and postpartum journey

Learn more about Progyny’s End-to-End expansion here: https://go.progyny.com/end-to-end-solution

Wondr Health introduces innovative solution to navigate the complexities of weight-loss medications

Wondr Health, a proven leader in digital behavior transformation, recently introduced Wondr Advanced, an innovative solution to help organizations navigate the complexities of weight-loss medications.

Obesity and related health-care costs are on the rise and the demand for anti-obesity medications (AOMs) has surged. For organizations that cover AOMs, those that pair AOMs with the highest quality behavior change support will be ahead of the curve in achieving long-term clinical outcomes.

42% of U.S. adults have obesity
Individuals with obesity cost organizations 2x as much as individuals at a healthy weight
Individuals lose 1.8x the weight when receiving AOM care with tailored medications than without
70% more participants achieved at least 15% weight loss when they combined AOMs with a behavior change program compared with AOMs alone

Building on the success of its world-class weight-management program Wondr, Wondr Health created Wondr Advanced to optimize clinical outcomes and control costs. Wondr Advanced brings industry-leading expertise, tailored medication management, seamless care coordination, and a personalized behavior change program to help organizations navigate the complexities of weight and AOMs for their population. To learn more, visit wondradvanced.com.

April 2023

In late 2022, Rightway partnered with Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company (Cost Plus Drugs), becoming the first PBM to integrate to lower prescription drug costs for its members. Rightway's pharmacists can now assist any members interested in transferring their medications to Cost Plus Drugs, from answering their questions to coordinating with the provider on the member's behalf. Rightway aims to continue to maximize access to low-cost Rx options, drastically minimizing spread pricing and resulting in >15% employer pharmacy savings.

Additionally, Rightway has been helping leadership in Washington introduce legislation that would require all PBMs to engage in more fair and transparent pharmacy benefit practices. The National Community Pharmacists Association (NACP) has selected and added Rightway to its list of independent and transparent PBMs that have pledged to conduct businesses in accordance with a set of hiding principle, such as patient centric care, clear contracting, and a collaborative care model, aligning the interests of patients, employers, and pharmacies.

Market-leading results have led to more companies selecting Rightway’s PBM as it quickly advances upmarket, exponentially growing its customer base and launching 25 new clients on 1/1/23 with an estimated 77,000+ lives. Across both solutions (care navigation and PBM), Rightway launched 58 new (approx. +112,000 lives) on 1/1/23.

Rightway was named to the 2023 NYC Digital Health 100 list (celebrating the most innovative health tech startups in the NY region) for the fourth straight year, in addition to being named as a 2023 Built In Best Places to Work winner for the second year in a row.

April 2023

With 36% of employees considering leaving a job because of inadequate family benefits, it’s crucial for HR and benefit leaders to prioritize supporting their parents and parents-to-be. 2023 is the year of family health benefits. Our recent survey revealed that nearly two-thirds of employers plan to increase their investments in family benefits this year. Download our report to learn how you can offer clinical, emotional, and financial support to your employees at every stage of their family and health care journeys.

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Headspace Health is an innovative mental health solution designed to provide employees with care across the continuum. Our comprehensive care model now includes EAP services, on-demand and unlimited mental health coaching, clinical care (therapy and psychiatry), and self-care and mindfulness programs, ensuring that employees have access to the support they need when they need it most, all in one place. With our program, companies see savings of up to $5,000 per employee engaged in clinical care. (Source: Value of Investing in Mental Health and Mindfulness)

Our global EAP opens a more approachable, wider front door to care, leveraging our brand recognition, immediate care, and team-based, multidisciplinary care model. We provide therapy appointments within 2.2 days and unlimited access to coaching and self-guided care resources so employees can get better faster. Our workforce services, such as critical incident support, workplace training, and manager consultations, ensure that organizations can create a healthy and supportive work environment.

We are proud to have invested in the largest body of peer-reviewed evidence in digital mental health, with over 50 peer-reviewed studies and 65 research collaborators. Our evidence-based care model has shown positive outcomes in subclinical and clinical areas, including improvements in anxiety and depression symptoms and decreased stress levels. We’re here to partner with you to support your employees.

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Kindbody Raised $100M in new funding to further accelerate growth. The company will open ten new clinics in 2023 to support employer demand for world-class fertility and family-building care.

Kindbody Raised $100 Million in New Funding to Further Accelerate Growth

Kindbody, a leading technology-driven fertility clinic network and family-building benefits provider for employers, announced it raised $100 million in capital from Perceptive Advisors to support future company growth. The latest financing brings Kindbody’s total equity and debt funding to more than $290 million, and its valuation to $1.8 billion - the highest valuation of any private women’s health and fertility benefits company.

The company will use the funding to continue to execute on its vision of affordable and accessible fertility care, by adding ten new clinics in underserved U.S. markets and by investing in operations to further enhance its care model which is designed to deliver industry-leading clinical outcomes.

Kindbody has grown significantly in the past year. In 2022, the company added 42 large employer clients, including Walmart, and today is the fertility benefits provider for 112 companies, covering more than 2.4 million lives. Today, Kindbody owns and operates 32 clinics nationwide with plans to open ten new clinics in 2023 in underserved markets with the greatest demand for affordable, high-quality fertility healthcare.

Kindbody is the only family-building benefits provider that owns and operates fertility clinics saving employers 25%-30% by contracting directly with them to provide comprehensive virtual and in-person care to their employees. As the direct provider of clinical care, Kindbody is uniquely positioned to provide a seamless continuum of care, decrease cost, improve patient experience, and deliver better health outcomes.

March 2023

RethinkCare, the leading global behavioral and mental health platform supporting neurodiversity in the workplace and at home has recently launched an expanded neurodiversity offering.

One in five adults are neurodiverse, meaning they may learn, communicate, and behave differently than their neurotypical peers due to biological differences in the brain. Yet, these differences are far from deficits. Neurodiverse employees can often be more focused, detail-oriented, and innovative in problem solving than their peers. Trailblazing organizations are embracing the tremendous value that these employees can bring to their business.

The expansion, including consultations with neurodiversity experts and a more comprehensive digital content library, aims to equip employees at all levels to better understand and nurture neurodiversity in the workplace.

RethinkCare’s upgraded Professional Resilience Solution includes:

New 1:1 workplace neurodiversity expert consultations
150+ new on-demand trainings for neurodiverse staff, managers, leadership, and colleagues
Access to 800+ expert-led trainings that develop emotionally intelligent leaders and prepare employees for the future of work

Request a demo to learn more about RethinkCare’s industry-leading neurodiversity program today.

March 2023

As the leading obesity treatment program in the market, Calibrate entered 2023 with enhanced clinical product updates, new published results, and 30,000+ members treated. Calibrate’s medically-supervised program treats obesity as a complex chronic disease and utilizes appropriate medication and intensive lifestyle intervention (ILI) to drive 15% sustained weight loss. To best address a client’s full population living with obesity, Calibrate has enhanced our clinical program stratification to route members to the appropriate and lowest net cost treatment within plan design and tie value and ROI to clinically appropriate member outcomes. As seen in the Calibrate 2023 Second Annual Results report, Calibrate is the first and only program to demonstrate average sustained weight loss results of 15% at 12, 18, and 24 months. These real world outcomes rival the previously unmatched clinical trial results of Wegovy, one of the most effective GLP-1 medications to come to market. These results demonstrate that our standard of care combining GLP-1 medication with our proprietary behavior change program is sustainable, even after medication. GLP-1 medications can deliver weight loss results comparable to bariatric surgery, but could be a lifetime commitment if not paired with lasting behavior change—a $2T cost the healthcare system cannot bear. Calibrate’s GLP-1 taper analysis indicates favorable post-taper weight loss outcomes when compared to clinical trials with 93% sustaining >10% weight loss at least 6 months after taper initiation.

Calibrate is changing the way the world treats weight while protecting employers against the tidal wave of GLP-1 costs - join us.

Coaching in Digital-First Chronic Care Solutions—Too Much of a Good Thing?

As a leading digital chronic condition management platform, Dario conducts research to ensure effectiveness and improve value for health plans, employers, and consumers.

To better understand the impact of human coaching along a digital journey, Dario researchers examined data from 712 high-risk Dario members with Type 2 diabetes. Members who engaged with a coach were compared to members who used Dario’s digital solution alone to manage their condition using the company’s smart blood glucose meter and personalized application.

The relationship between blood glucose measurements and glycemic control is well established. Just two measurements per week can improve clinical outcomes.

The new study, presented at the Advanced Technologies & Treatments for Diabetes 2023 Conference, showed that both groups achieved clinically significant reductions in monthly average blood glucose during a 12-month period, 18% for the coaching group and 11% for the non-coaching group.

Most interestingly, the study revealed that members who engaged with Dario’s digital solution more frequently didn't need coaching. While coaching benefits users who are engaging less frequently with the digital solution, it's not necessary for highly engaged users.

Highly engaged users may only need coaching in special circumstances, as their needs change. Instead of requiring all users to engage with a coach, optimizing the role of coaching to the right users at the right time could improve efficiency and deliver support at a lower cost. These insights can be used to help realize the promise of digital health solutions by enabling effective, personalized solutions to be delivered at scale.

February 2023

Hello Heart, the only digital therapeutic focusing exclusively on heart health management, recently announced the additions of Dot-to-Dot and an enhanced My Meds experience to its digital program.

Dot-to-Dot is a breakthrough feature that leverages well-established clinical research and artificial intelligence (AI) to help people connect their lifestyle choices to their heart health.
My Meds is Hello Heart’s medication adherence feature. This recent enhancement, a free upgrade for all Hello Heart users and clients to celebrate American Heart Health Month, helps users build a habit of taking their medications on time, makes it fun and rewarding to track medications, and helps members understand the potential impact of the medications they take.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. and costs payors upwards of $229B per year.1 Commonly called “the silent killer,” many people don’t know they have a problem until they experience a catastrophic event such as a heart attack or stroke. Hello Heart helps you get ahead of the crisis with an engaging, digital heart health management program that generates lasting clinical and financial results.

These exciting enhancements are significant steps in Hello Heart’s mission to empower people to have a stronger understanding of their cardiovascular health and how they can better manage it. Learn more at www.helloheart.com.

1 Heart Disease Facts. CDC Website. https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm. Published October 14, 2022. Accessed February 9, 2023.

February 2023

The 10 Most Troubling Healthcare Payment Errors We Have Encountered

It is no secret that errors occur in paying healthcare bills, but what might surprise you is that it may be more financially advantageous for a carrier to erroneously pay a claim and then reclaim the funds versus paying the provider correctly the first time. A carrier could stand to make as much as 35% of the error amount if it was “recovered” by their payment integrity unit. Below is a “top 10” of the most troubling errors that we encountered when vetting claims for our self-funded employer clients:

Home infusion of Tylenol for $188,160
Missed provider discount of $131,032 on a $139,741 claim
Payment of $67,915 for two breast pumps valued at $375
Payment of $966,288 for surgeon ($547,800) and assistant surgeon ($418,488) for Spinal Fusion at 97 times Medicare
Outpatient infusion of the drug infliximab (a.k.a. Remicade) by a children’s hospital at 5 times the market value, resulting in overcharges of $450,361 over three years
Emergency Room visit for "dizziness" paid for $155,633
One year of member dialysis treatments with a fair value of $72,000, paid for $789,448
Facility charges of $84,122 for a 60-minute varicose vein surgery on 1 leg
Missed subrogation claim for $160,851 where the patient returned to the hospital 5 days after being discharged due to a foreign object being left in the body
Inpatient claim paid at $594,370 where tragically the patient expired within 12 hours of being admitted through the emergency room

We suspect your next question is “What exactly can we do as a self-funded employer to identify and eliminate these wasteful spend practices?”. finHealth has spent the past 9 years refining a healthcare cost containment methodology to arm self-funded employers with the tools, resources and expertise to root out wasteful spending. To further help you meet your fiduciary governance responsibilities, finHealth has developed a no-cost “proof-of-value” to gauge your health plan’s current performance and quantify the financial impact of proactive management of your health plan. Working collaboratively with you and your advisors, we help you prioritize and strategize as to those healthcare spending areas where you can generate the maximum financial impact, safeguarding dollars for your members and your company health plan.

December 2022

Access to reproductive and family care has never been more critical. Today, almost one-third of U.S. women of reproductive age live in states with restrictions on access to abortion, 15% of reproductive-age couples globally experience infertility, and nearly one-in-three women say they’ve taken sick days for their menopause symptoms.

With this $90 million Series E funding, Maven will continue to invest in our end-to-end global reproductive health and family care platform to create even more personalized, localized experiences across the entire family journey and drive even greater impact for our clients and members globally.

Learn more about what the fundraise means from Maven founder and CEO Kate Ryder here.

December 2022

Study finds that Wondr improves energy, mood, sleep and more

A recent study found that participants of Wondr Health experienced less indigestion, better self-confidence, more energy, improved mood, a reduction in pain, and better sleep. Participants who experienced greater weight loss and increased physical activity further enhanced these benefits. These results were published in the BMC Public Health Journal.

“Physical benefits associated with weight loss are well-documented, but less is known about the effect on quality of life,” said Tim Church, MD, MPH, PhD, Chief Medical Officer, Wondr Health. “These findings confirm that the benefits of Wondr go well beyond weight loss.”

This study evaluated 26,658 participants (79% women) after the initial 10 weeks of the Wondr program. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between weight loss, change in physical activity, and quality of life following participation in Wondr.

The study found that 68% of participants experienced less indigestion, 65% had enhanced self-confidence, 64% showed improvements in energy, 63% reported a boost in their mood, 39% had a reduction in musculoskeletal pain and 33% improved their sleep.

A study from a large consulting firm further supported this approach, reporting that 83% of employers think it is important to enhance their employees’ total well-being.

“Organizations that simplify their benefits by identifying strategies and solutions that address both mind and body will target the top chronic conditions and drive outcomes and cost-savings for their organization,” Dr. Church said. Learn more.

Vivante Health, the leader in digestive health solutions for enterprises, continues to provide positive member outcomes at scale as backed up by their newest clinical impact survey.

In a recent survey, Vivante Health studied the impact of Vivante Health’s GIThrive program on its members. The survey found that 92% of GIThrive members reported improvements in their physical symptoms and demonstrated how Vivante Health is continually improving the positive health outcomes of our members.

The top five symptoms improved for members were bloating, constipation, gas, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. GIThrive members also experienced a positive change in their mental health. They reported a lessening of anxiety, stress, depression, and fatigue. With the help of GIThrive, 93% of members reported improvement in their overall quality of life.

Results from the Survey:

93% of members saw an improvement in their quality of life
92% of members noticed their gut health symptoms lessened
77% of members reported that their overall physical health changed for the better
63% of users were able to identify trigger foods

Over 70 million Americans have digestive diseases, such as Crohn’s disease, Celiac disease, and irritable bowel syndrome. Gut issues are a leading cause of absenteeism and GI claims account for $136 billion annually. Providing digestive support resources can create a more productive workplace, reduce company costs, and give employees opportunities to take control of their health.

Video Associated w/ Alumni Update: https://vimeo.com/751472878

NETWORK EXPANSION

Foodsmart is excited to announce a new national network partnership with Cigna, effective January 1, 2023. Cigna is the latest health plan to add Foodsmart’s registered dietitians to its network, joining plans like Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, who are helping bring Foodsmart’s nutrition services to their members.

What this Means for Clients

Being in-network with a health plan enables Foodsmart to bill telehealth visits with registered dietitians directly through medical claims, meaning:

Simplified Implementation: Fuss-free billing and payment that saves clients the hassle of establishing and maintaining a medical invoicing process

Budget optimization: Prevention of additional costs of out-of-network solutions, resulting in savings to clients’ administrative and wellness budgets

WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE

In September, the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health took place for the first time in over 50 years. Foodsmart was humbled to be invited to attend the event, participate in key strategic sessions, and give input on the future of addressing food and nutrition insecurity in the U.S.

The White House Conference Event Briefing highlights over $8 billion in new commitments from industry, academic, and community partners, including Foodsmart’s commitment to “provide no-cost training and secure employment for over 10,000 nutrition professionals of color by building partnerships with universities, online continuing education companies, and accreditation bodies” over the next five years.

We’re excited to help clients get the best health benefits for their employees’ nutritional needs. If you are interested in learning more about partnering with Foodsmart or have questions about our in-network coverage, please reach out to inquiries@foodsmart.com.

November 2022

A $200 million Series C in 2022 fueled Transcarent’s expansion supporting the growing demand for direct access to high-quality, affordable care — all in one place.

Transcarent supports five core health and care needs: everyday (e.g., chat with a doctor in <60 seconds and behavioral health), pharmacy, care at home, surgery and musculoskeletal, and complex care (including oncology). This consumer-directed, integrated experience addresses 50-60% of spend. The goal: 90% or more.

Transcarent Pharmacy Care and Pharmacy Marketplace give employers maximum control over benefits and deliver savings of $92 per prescription and up to 40% total savings on pharmacy spend. Members receive an integrated, longitudinal experience for medical and pharmacy benefits, and can shop for lowest cost medications, transfer pharmacies, and easily schedule medication pickup or home delivery.

Behavioral Health Care provides rapid access to coaching, therapy, and medication management, reducing the 21-day average to receive an appointment to within 2 days. Oncology Care provides access to top-quality care across the country and serves as a single trusted resource from early detection to social support and recovery.

Additionally, Transcarent enhanced relationships with leading health systems, including Rush University System for Health (RUSH) and Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS). RUSH implemented the benefit so 9,000 employees and their families could access a 24/7 dedicated Health Guide and digital app for personalized guidance, achieving engagement rates of 30% activation and 80% utilization within 180 days. HSS, with the nation’s lowest complication and readmission rates, is now available as a COE for orthopedic surgeries.

In 2022, Sword Health evolved the brand and launched Bloom, the next generation of pelvic-health care. Developed by Sword Health, Bloom is a program designed to help women improve the function of their pelvic floor. It is the only solution that includes a customized program from a Pelvic Health Specialist, the Bloom Pod by Elvie, and a mobile app to track results and progress. All of Bloom’s Pelvic Health Specialists have Doctor of Physical Therapy Degrees.

Sword Health leverages cutting-edge technology and human-led clinical care protocols to treat pain and underlying causes of MSK and pelvic conditions. Our PTs monitor activity and progress using the “Portal”, enabling them to tailor a member’s treatment plan in real-time. Sword and Bloom are clinical-grade, accessible, equitable, and convenient care programs with guaranteed outcomes. The 2-for-1 integration is a single lift and includes marketing outreach to promote a seamless member journey with implementation scores of 10/10. Sword360 uses API gateways to create bi-directional data sharing with leading EMRs, enabling visibility into a member's relevant medical history. PTs leverage clinical history, imaging, and lab reports to ensure continuity with a patient’s provider and payer. By treating all regions of the body, members can heal from the comfort of their homes and forgo ineffective and costly procedures.

Our ambition is to provide the new gold standard in care and pain treatment. We’ll do this by innovating with technology, delivering it with human care and compassion, and extending this care to as many lives as possible.

Kaia Health has always valued clinical excellence as one of the major tenants of our brand philosophy. We think it’s especially important in the growing field of digital therapeutics when speed to market can come at the cost of clinical rigor. That’s why we’re proud to announce that Kaia Health has become the first and currently only MSK solution to receive the Validation Institute’s highest validation - Program Validation.

The Validation Institute is an independent, third-party organization that assesses claims made by healthcare companies about their products or services. Since launching in 2010, they’ve worked with dozens of healthcare brands, using a stringent, evidence-based process to validate performance claims.

Kaia’s clinical trial was assessed on health outcomes and cost savings. Kaia was able to prove in a clinical setting that our users had less pain (33%) and that by using our product, money was saved (up to 80%). These results combined with our clinically rigorous, evidence-based digital therapy approach to treating musculoskeletal conditions resulted in the validation of our program.

Kaia Health has made a monumental step forward in establishing clinical validation for our digital MSK therapy. It’s important to us that as we empower millions of people around the world to live their healthiest lives, we stay true to the vision of creating the most clinically sound and technologically advanced products on the market. Program validation earned from the Validation Institute is an important step on this journey.

October 2022

A JAMA Network Open study, published in June, demonstrated that participation in Spring Health's workplace mental health program contributed to a significant reduction in symptoms of depression and anxiety among employees. In addition, findings showed that offering mental health benefits also increased workplace productivity at companies of all sizes.

The study evaluated Spring Health's workplace mental health program and included participation from 1,132 employees at 66 employers — including small, medium, and large employers — across 40 states from January 2018 to January 2021. It is the first study to prove that a well-designed and executed employee mental health program can increase productivity, reduce absenteeism, and drive a positive financial return on investment for employers.

Key findings include:

Nearly 70 percent of participants reliably improved their mental health
Average time to remission was 5.9 weeks
25 percent fewer missed work days
24 percent increase in productivity
Significantly higher job retention as employees were 60% less likely to leave their job
Average workplace savings of more than $7,000 per participant within the first six months

Spring Health's workplace mental health program encompasses several proven methods of precision mental healthcare for all family members (age 6+): comprehensive mental health screening, personal support from a licensed Care Navigator, on-demand digital self-help tools, and fast access to coaching, outpatient psychotherapy, and medication management. Globally, members have access to care in an average of two days or less. For partnership inquiries or to schedule a demo please visit: https://springhealth.com/contact/

SmartLight Analytics, the 16th fastest growing software company in the U.S. according to Inc. Magazine, is introducing new tools for employers to help them better understand their healthcare costs.

Employers lose billions annually to undiscovered fraud, waste, and abuse in their health plans. Using proprietary inferential analytics, SmartLight identifies and remediates dollars lost in healthcare, pharmaceutical, and dental claims.

With SmartLight’s new Fiduciary Value Analysis (FVA), employers gain full visibility into the totality of their medical spend, and the value of the programs associated with their healthcare plans. FVA acts as an accounting reconciliation to verify payments against their component line items, ensuring that no discrepancies exist. FVA compares buy-up program fees to the claims data, to understand the value of various healthcare cost reduction services and add-on features. This educational tool helps employers ensure their programs are beneficial, that plan dollars are being used for the sole and exclusive benefit of the plan members, that fees being charged are reasonable, and offers opportunities to refine ASA agreements for optimum value.

In addition to the new FVA program, SmartLight is rolling out the SmartLight Health Data Warehouse (SHDW) to store and present claims administration data in a clear and useful way. Through this platform, SmartLight helps employers understand the relationships between members, providers, claims administration, and health plans by reporting data for employers and offering insight.

These new tools give employers the power to flatten or reverse increasing healthcare spend by redirecting dollars toward the most value-added programs.

Newtopia is a personalized, whole health platform that helps people create positive lifelong habits to prevent, slow, or reverse chronic disease and enrich mental health – all while reducing healthcare costs. This summer, we launched our new engagement platform and brand refresh.

The new platform, which includes a state-of-the-art participant experience and streamlined website, creates personalized programs to combat the onset or slow/reverse development of key chronic conditions including: metabolic disease, diabetes, mental health disorders, hypertension, weight management and musculoskeletal conditions. Through seamless integrations and tech-enabled service efficiencies, Newtopia’s updated platform provides capabilities that close gaps in care, further enhancing Newtopia’s ongoing expansion within the health plans arena.

Offered by leading employer and health plan innovators throughout North America, Newtopia focuses on developing sustainable, healthy habits through clinically proven behavior change. The Company’s new engagement platform and app, featuring advanced application design, is an integral component of the participant experience, which is steeped in the philosophy of humans-helping-humans enabled by technology. The new participant experience encourages engagement in regular emotional check-ins, features live, interactive 1:1 and group coaching and supports self-scheduling with Inspirators.

Participants now also have access to Newtopia’s proprietary Habit Change Index (HCI) with which they can manage their progress and recognize their achievements. The HCI leverages a plethora of data about activity level, sleep, stress, meals, mood, coaching sessions and goal adherence. For participants, the result is increased resilience and reduced prevalence of chronic disease. For risk bearing partners, the result is reduced costs of care and a healthier, happier set of customers.

September 2022

In January 2022, Rightway doubled the number of lives on its PBM platform with a 4x increase in implementations, as a result of several large national brand wins across multiple industries.

With a 109% increase in PBM membership, Rightway is successfully meeting increased demand through its advanced technology and experienced team of operational and clinical experts. Rightway is exceeding customer expectations with 100% of new clients being “very satisfied” with their experience, resulting in an average NPS of 71 in the first two months of engagement, and 99% of specialty patients enrolled in copay assistance programs prior to implementation.

Rightway announced the launch of its ecosystem partnership program, RightwayHub, streamlining access to leading healthcare point solutions such as Maven Clinic, Spring Health, and Vida Health. By bringing together programs that combined reflect a comprehensive benefits strategy across priority condition areas including musculoskeletal health, behavioral health, and chronic care management, the RightwayHub makes it easier for employees to access all partner solutions through Rightway’s centralized care navigation platform. Members can navigate their entire care journey, optimizing employee engagement and improving health outcomes. RightwayHub is the most holistic program in the market, offering a solution for nearly every high-cost condition area with a seamless implementation process and elevated member experience. With the launch of this app, Rightway demonstrates their commitment to coordinating better care across the diverse landscape of digital point solutions.

Rightway's revenue growth of 1,626% placed it #362 on the Inc. 5000 list of America's fastest-growing private companies, propelled by the recognition and adoption of its innovative care navigation and pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) platforms by some of the nation's most forward-thinking employers.

September 2022

Flipt was built from the ground up as a fairer alternative to typical PBMs. From 100% pass-through pricing to a high-tech, high-touch user experience, Flipt is working to fix the pharmaceutical value chain. And our team has been driving results for our customers:

We have garnered unparalleled member engagement from our largest customer: 97% of pharmacy-utilizing members have activated the Flipt app.
Year to date, 23% of our 1/1/2022 implementation members have chosen lower-cost pharmacies.
We have updated the Flipt mobile app 5 times in 2022 thus far, in response to member feedback and for scheduled improvements.

Our mission and the results we have achieved are resonating with employers:

On 1/1/2022, Flipt added over 50k lives in the US and Puerto Rico, and we are adding another 12k lives in Puerto Rico on 1/1/2023.
On 7/1/2022, Flipt added 2 Health Transformation Alliance (HTA) members and our first retiree population consisting of 8k lives.

With these successes, Flipt remains committed to lowering pharmacy benefit costs for employers and their members by providing drug pricing transparency via connected technology and high-touch concierge solutions.

With the potential to impact the widest group of employees, the pharmacy benefit is prime for innovation and savings. Rx Savings Solutions continues to drive innovation in pharmacy transparency. Having doubled since 2021, RxSS serves more than 17 million members and has launched new solutions to address client needs for improving member engagement, controlling specialty pharmacy, and addressing health equity.

Solution Updates:

Direct to Prescriber – Using established workflows, RxSS connects directly with prescribers to present the easiest cost-saving medication switches available to members.
Discount Card Integration – Employers may opt in to provide members more complete price transparency and see GoodRx coupons in the RxSS portal. A discount card-only option can be offered to non-benefit eligible employees.
Home Delivery – A new fulfillment channel offers convenience and savings for members who can request delivery and complete payment from the RxSS portal.
AdminRx for Employers – The same powerful tool that powers the RxSS member services team provides point-of-care decision support for onsite clinic staff.
Specialty Pharmacy – The RxSS engine finds at least one clinical alternative for nearly 90% of specialty claims. RxSS specialty pharmacists evaluate available treatment and site-of-care options for lowest net cost and work directly with member and prescribers.

Service and Results:

Updated ROI Guarantee – RxSS now offers a 3:1 ROI at 36 months for groups larger than 10,000 members (engagement criteria apply).
Since January 2021, our employer clients saw a 43% reduction in combined plan/member spend, which includes $73.8 million in client savings.

Video Link

August 2022

One Medical, a national modernized primary care practice, will bring its accessible, high-quality healthcare to Dallas, Miami, and Milwaukee this year. With an integrated 24/7 telehealth and in-office care experience, One Medical members are able to easily book same and next-day appointments within the One Medical app. Appointments start on-time and provide uninterrupted, dedicated time between patients and primary care providers. In addition to a direct-to-consumer membership model, we work with more than 8,000 companies to provide One Medical health benefits to their employees. The membership includes 24/7/365 virtual care services through the One Medical mobile app, featuring on-demand video visits, secure provider messaging, “Treat Me Now” digital assessments for common health concerns, easy vaccine and medical record access, prescription renewals and proactive reminders for follow-up care and referral needs. There are over 125 One Medical locations in nearly 20 markets, making it easy to continue your care while traveling for work or pleasure. To learn more about how One Medical is a benefit with proven benefits, visit https://www.onemedical.com/business/impact/.

August 2022

Omada Health closed its $192 million Series E funding round led by Fidelity Management & Research Company with participation from aMoon, existing investors Perceptive Advisors, Wellington Management, Civilization Ventures, and others. The latest funding round is being used in the following ways:

Accelerate hiring at all levels to meet customer demands
Accelerate technological roadmap for care and coaching personalization
Increased investment in the Omada Insights Lab

An immediate result of the funding announcement is the integration of behavioral health support across its existing programs: Diabetes Prevention and Management, Hypertension and Musculoskeletal.

The integration addresses barriers to improved health outcomes, including anxiety and depression assessment, resources to manage social determinants of health, like access to food, stress management and sleep tools, care teams supplemented mental health specialists and training, and triage and guidance in serious mental health crises.

The funding round and the behavioral health integration allows Omada to continue to be successful in helping people navigate the complexity of their chronic conditions by focusing on behavior change and insights-driven coaching, across critical clinical areas for employers and health plans.

To learn more about Omada’s coaching and Omada Insights Lab, check out our most recent Webinar: The Power of Mindset as a Key Predictor of Lasting Behavior Change. In this webinar, Omada Health’s Director of Data Science, Ryan Quan, and Senior Director of Health Coaching, Devin Ellsworth, share how mindset and behavior change are leading indicators of outcomes and impact ROI.

Video: Here

40% of menopausal women say that symptoms interfere with their work on a weekly basis, yet it’s a journey that’s rarely talked about in the workplace. Considering menopause already impacts a significant portion of today’s workforce—with the number of menopausal women expected to rise to 1.1 billion worldwide by 2025—it’s time to do something about it.

Maven’s Menopause & Ongoing C are program fills critical gaps in care throughout the menopausal journey by identifying symptoms early and providing 24/7/365 virtual access to specialists, clinically-validated educational content, guidance on treatment options, as well as 1:1 mental health support.

Reduce the stigma around menopause and provide the holistic, specialized support your employees need through this often overlooked phase of life. Learn more about Maven’s Menopause & Ongoing Care program here.

July 2022

We conducted a national study with 1,500+ LGBTQ+ employees from Fortune 100 companies to better understand their healthcare experiences. From discrimination and inconsistent knowledge of medical needs to discomfort and uncertainty when searching for a provider, we found that many members of the LGBTQ+ community choose to avoid care all together.

Care avoidance has a meaningful, long-term impact on health outcomes, experience and cost:

2-2.5x higher costs associated with ED and inpatient stays
Roughly 125-200% more inpatient admissions
A 50-100% greater emergency use

Download our research paper and see why it’s important to address these challenges for your members today.

July 2022

Kindbody, a leading fertility and family-building benefits provider for employers offering comprehensive virtual and in-person care has doubled its national footprint to 28 Signature Clinics this year with plans to expand to 37 by year’s end to increase access to patient-centric, technology-driven care to your employees.

Also, Kindbody recently announced the acquisition of genomics company Phosphorus Labs to bring Kindbody's genetic testing and screening in-house to deliver a seamless continuum of patient care.

This expansion is in response to unprecedented employer demand. Over the last few years, fertility benefits have skyrocketed in popularity. In fact, they’ve become one of the top offerings that companies invest in to attract and retain top talent. In 2022, 63% of employers are expected to cover fertility services beyond the diagnosis of infertility. We cover the trends driving this demand, and how employers can ensure their fertility and family-building offerings are just as relevant today as they will be in the next five years

in our latest ebook, Future Proof Your Benefits Strategy. Looking for a fertility benefits partner that understands the needs of your employees and your business? Contact us any time.

The Lyra team is thrilled to provide new innovation to our global mental health products and services that will enhance the experience of every member. Significant investment has been made across our Workforce Mental Health offering to deliver a unified and localized global experience, transformed access to inclusive and equitable care, and tools to empower leaders to build a culture of mental health wellbeing. The investment includes expanded access to high-touch concierge care for autism spectrum disorder, providers with a focus on DEIB and specialized whole family care for children as young as age 2, adolescents, and teens, with the integration of caregiver support. Additionally, Lyra is releasing a set of organizational development tools to help create a mentally healthy culture, coach managers and employees on mental health, and empower benefits leaders to create data-driven mental health strategies. These innovative tools help cultivate psychologically safe environments and resilient workforces and reduce organizational risks like turnover and burnout.

Taking a huge leap forward in mental healthcare: Introducing 4th-wave mental healthcare

It has been a big year for Meru Health. The company secured $38 million in new funding, announced nationwide and local partnerships with Cigna, Highmark, Evry Health, and Anthem Colorado—among others—and expanded into preventative mental healthcare with a coaching offering.

The icing on the cake was a $2 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health for a randomized control study of the effectiveness of Meru Health. Under the grant, Meru Health will follow 300 primary care patients who are experiencing symptoms of major depression to track their symptoms change during and after the 12-week program. This study follows previous Meru Health studies with leading universities like Stanford, Harvard, and UC Davis.

The premise for studying digital mental health solutions is clear: We are currently experiencing a national mental health crisis. There aren’t enough therapists to meet the demand. Meru Health’s new mind-body approach merges the scalability of digital platforms with the human support of dedicated mental healthcare professionals to deliver better outcomes—and for more people—than prior methods. Meru Health calls this approach “Fourth-Wave Mental Healthcare.” The NIH study will be an important part of bringing digital mental healthcare to the mainstream and helping everyone get access to high-quality mental healthcare.

June 2022

Wellthy recently announced the launch of Wellthy Community, a peer support network that enables members to connect online with other caregivers. The new product includes moderated discussions on specific caregiving topics, such as special needs care or accessing resources for veterans; virtual events and webinars; and expert guidance from Wellthy’s care professionals.

“Being a caregiver can feel isolating and overwhelming, but a huge number of Americans — about one in five — are going through the same thing,” said Wellthy CEO Lindsay Jurist-Rosner. “We created Wellthy Community to empower caregivers to share challenges, ideas, and resources, and ultimately, make the act of caregiving a little less lonely.”

Ongoing caregiving demands commonly lead to social isolation, which can spill over into other mental and physical health problems. 40 to 70 percent of family caregivers experience clinical depression, and isolation is associated with increased risk of problems like heart disease and dementia. 56 percent of caregivers say their supervisors are not aware of their caregiving responsibilities, meaning they cannot show their true selves at work, and furthering the feeling of social isolation. Wellthy Community offers the opportunity to connect with others experiencing the same thing, regardless of the time or place.

Community fits within the existing Wellthy offering, so program sponsors can provide employees with the opportunity to connect with peers without adding a new benefit.

Learn more on the Wellthy blog.

About Wellthy

Wellthy is the leading caregiving support solution for enterprises. Wellthy helps employees tackle the logistical and administrative tasks of caring for the ones they love, including themselves.

June 2022

Quit Genius recently turned 5 years old! To celebrate, we’ve got some fantastic new developments to share.

We recently expanded our Express Scripts/Evernorth partnership to provide access to both our Alcohol and Opioid programs to all ESI customers, highlighting their continued commitment to ensuring their clients can provide the best SUD treatment options to their populations.

Our new partnership with Evry Health, a modern B2B health insurance company, will deliver Quit Genius’s outcomes-based addiction treatment for tobacco, alcohol and opioids to Evry Health's members starting in April 2022.

In hiring news, we added Justin Yang, MD, MPH as our new Medical Director. Dr. Yang is a Harvard-trained, dual Board-certified Assistant Professor of Medicine with more than ten years of academic and healthcare industry leadership, as well as clinical and research experience in population health and wellness with a focus in addiction medicine, evidence-based clinical strategy and digital health innovation.

We also named Gabriel Mecklenburg, co-founder and executive chairman of Hinge Health, to our Board of Directors back in February.

We continue to have exciting conversations with EHIR members, and were energized by our Spring 2022 round table sessions, where EHIR cohort members discussed the stigma around mental health and addiction as well as the health equity gap connected to employees with substance use disorders.

The conversations, while at times controversial, were engaging, and enlightening – demonstrating the challenges that come with solving addiction in the workplace.

Hello Heart was clinically shown to work in a 3-year study. In a peer-reviewed study published in JAMA Network Open in 2021, UCSF and Hello Heart researchers tracked 28,189 Hello Heart users over a 3-year period to see how using the Hello Heart coaching app impacted people with high blood pressure. Hello Heart app users showed that greater engagement with the Hello Heart app was associated with better blood pressure management. Hello Heart participants were shown to achieve and maintain lower blood pressure over time—even those most at risk for heart disease. The study observed that 84% of users with a baseline blood pressure of 140/90 (stage 2 hypertension) reduced their blood pressure, sustained up to 3 years.

By lowering blood pressure, employers can potentially save $1,865 per participant in the first year, according to a Validation Institute cost savings certification for the Hello Heart program. The certification was based on an independent analysis of 2017-2020 employer claims data commissioned by Hello Heart, which found an average savings of $1,865 in total year one medical costs per Hello Heart user compared to matched non-users.

Hello Heart also recently raised $70M in Series D funding, following significant increase in market demand for heart health solutions. The high demand is in part driven by the Surgeon General’s Call to Action to employers and health plan purchasers to control hypertension, making it a national priority.

Headspace and Ginger have joined forces as Headspace Health! Together, we offer the world’s most accessible, comprehensive digital mental health platform.

Prevention, treatment, and maintenance solutions provide employees and their families with the care they need, even as their needs change. Our core enterprise products, Headspace for Work and Ginger, bring together everyday mindfulness and team-based care, enhanced by technology.

Headspace for Work is an evidence-based meditation solution that creates meaningful change for organizations looking to improve employee happiness and workforce performance, and cultivate a culture of mindfulness. Members can access meditations, skill-building exercises, sleepcasts, guided workouts, and focus music, all personalized to fit their work life and everyday wellness needs. Through Headspace for Work, employers can gain broad insight into their workforce’s well-being, encourage healthy habit-building and opportunities to upskill, and embed mindfulness and compassion across their organization.

Ginger offers members high-quality, on-demand mental healthcare. Every Ginger member has access to quality personalized care, including real-time, text-based behavioral health coaching, video-based therapy and psychiatry, and self-guided care resources. Ginger’s expert care providers are supercharged by our augmented intelligence capabilities and work collaboratively to deliver evidence-based care that meets every member's unique needs.

Ginger's new EAP add-on services delivers a comprehensive mental health solution that combines Ginger’s behavioral health platform with industry-leading EAP support. Ginger’s text-based and virtual services are now supplemented by in-person care options and work-life services to address a wide range of member mental health and workplace needs.

Learn more at headspacehealth.com.

Launched in 2018 by the founder of One Medical, Galileo began providing team-based primary and multispecialty care for the most complex and vulnerable populations — Medicaid, Medicare, and the Uninsured. Within the first year of implementation, the model demonstrated a significant impact including, a 71% care gap closure rate, 4+ Medicare STAR ratings, a 40% decrease in total medical spend for high-risk patients, and an NPS of over 80.

By investing in the most difficult work first and—bringing high-touch, high-quality care into underserved, rural areas—Galileo was able to create a scalable, multispecialty digital model that can address 90% needs without a referral in any population, from urban to rural, healthy to chronically ill, headquarters to assembly line, for commercial employers and payers.

Most recently, Galileo expanded its virtual multispecialty capabilities with an end-to-end Spanish care experience. Spanish-speaking employees can now access 24/7 care nationwide via text, video, or phone with no appointment necessary for acute to complex care needs served by Galileo’s in-house bi-lingual and bi-cultural physicians.

A patient’s entire care experience can now be in the language they are most comfortable with — from app store download to comprehensive care plans — eliminating language and cultural barriers that cause hesitancy in seeking and receiving care.

Galileo’s ability to improve health outcomes in broad and diverse populations has captured the attention of value-focused payers and employers, including launching a virtual care plan with the nation’s largest payer. To learn more visit: galileo.io

As a Benefits/Total Rewards leader, you are confronted several times a year with a handful of incredibly complex and high dollar healthcare claims. These $500K+ “break the bank” claims may require your specific approval, carrying with it significant fiduciary obligations. finHealth is transforming the process of paying these high-dollar hospital bills from a frustrating, mind-numbing exercise into a thoughtful data-driven analysis that arms self-funded employers with confidence in fulfilling their duties as plan sponsors. Within minutes of receiving an itemized hospital bill, finHealth will generate a market-based, data-driven assessment of value delivered to the patient based upon the detailed treatment received. Any duplicated, inflated, or experimental treatment lines are immediately flagged for further review.

finHealth’s highly disruptive, AI-enabled technology is already impacting healthcare costs for innovative self-funded employers. Deploying this approach across both national carriers and independent TPA’s, the app enables a complex 5,000+ line hospital bill to be interrogated & dissected within minutes, flagging errors, and rendering an immediate, independent, and comprehensive assessment of market value. Performed on a prepayment basis, this line-by-line vetting of an itemized hospital bill PRIOR to payment effectively shifts the balance of power back to the plan sponsor. If the bill contains errors and/or inflated charges, this claim can be pended for reimbursement and/or short paid to effectively shift the administration burden back to the payer/provider where it rightfully belongs.

SurgeryPlus is the leading COE model in the US with the largest network of surgeons and facilities and the most procedures performed annually. SurgeryPlus is a value-added benefit provided to employee members at no cost and no opt-in required. Member experience, access to high quality care, and significant cost savings for members and employers drive the success of the SurgeryPlus model.

Superior care, ongoing support, and fewer complications create a best-in-class member experience. A superior member experience is achieved using a three-pronged approach. First, the member connects with an in-house Care Advocate who has been through significant training on how to support our members and why member support is critical to patient outcomes. Next, the member receives care from one of our in-network surgeons who has passed rigorous standards requirements to be accepted into the SurgeryPlus program. Our vetting process for both Care Advocates and surgeons ensure the highest quality of member care. After their procedures, the members continue to receive support from their Care Advocate until recovery is achieved.

We offer a pricing model designed to align with our clients’ needs including fixed administrative fees, no implementation, or reporting fees, and a shared savings model. Additionally, employers realize costs at the procedure level with our transparent bundled rates, improved outcomes, and avoided procedures. Employers typically realize a savings of $5-10 PEPM in year one doubling that in year two with greater savings when mandatory/required utilization of more expensive procedures such as joint replacements, spine and bariatrics.

April 2022

In Alight’s upcoming 2022 Winning with Wellbeing study—one of the largest conducted in the industry uncovering the relationship between employees and their benefits using the lens of diversity— we learned that only 35% of employees trust their employer to develop a benefits plan that’s in their best interest. We also learned that over 50% of employees regretted a recent healthcare decision. How can we make health benefits work for everyone? Xan Daniels, Diversity & Inclusion Officer, and Fatima Karim-Murji, SVP of Clinical Business Development, share their insights. Watch the webinar here.

Key takeaways:

Think about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as it relates to your DE&I and benefits strategy. If basic physiological and safety needs are going unmet (e.g., being able to afford your prescriptions), employees don’t have the capacity to truly belong.
When you are evaluating point solutions and navigators, consider how they can support equitable outcomes in diverse populations. Do their people, processes, and technology organize around contextualizing care, supporting concordant care, and solutioning for social determinants of health challenges?
As a result of working closely with many of our healthcare navigation clients who have successfully reduced disparities in health outcomes, Alight has seen a general framework emerge:
- Leverage utilization and population data
- Uncover insights to action
- Address disparities with services
- Ensure engagement activities are designed to amplify these services to the right people, at the right time—key!
- Ongoing measurement

Alight continues to invest in provider data sets, digital self-service tools, hyper-personalized communications, and DE&I-focused trainings to ensure we’re engaging and empowering all members to make healthcare decisions with dignity and confidence.

Optional Video:

Alight’s new employee experience platform is here. Meet Alight Worklife.

Apil 2022

Artemis Health recently launched a new web-based Product Tour to showcase our innovative benefits analytics platform. The interactive walk-through showcases key features, functionality, and tools that employers and advisors can use to find efficient spending, identify gaps in care, and measure point solution performance. You can access the Product Tour here.

Each year, Artemis teams up with Employee Benefit News/Arizent Media to conduct original research into the challenges and trends facing benefits leaders. Our research paper, which launched in January, dives deep into questions around benefits teams’ motivations, hurdles, and attitudes towards data analytics.

One key finding: just 53% percent of benefits leaders say they are “very confident” using non-traditional data sources (beyond medical and Rx data). Benefits teams struggle to take action with point solution data in particular, and they often feel lost when it comes to measuring their program performance and ensuring programs are delivering value for employees and their families. Read the research here, and stay tuned for how Artemis is helping address the need for better point solution measurement.

In January, Artemis Health joined forces with Nomi Health, a leading direct healthcare provider that shares our passion for improving the cost and quality of healthcare in the U.S. Artemis will bring our best-in-class data analytics platform and capabilities to Nomi customers and work to close the gap between insight and action. This merger will enable both organizations to accelerate growth, innovate faster, and improve healthcare for employers and their advisors.

Carrot Fertility has announced a new line of clinically-validated, age-inclusive fertility benefits for employees going through every stage of menopause and low testosterone. These conditions are most common for people between the ages of 42 and 65, but can also impact younger people in ways that interfere with treatments like IVF, egg freezing, as well as pregnancy. With the addition of menopause and low testosterone support, Carrot is now the first fertility benefits provider to offer comprehensive care for employees throughout their entire careers.

Approximately 40% of men age 45+ experience low testosterone, and an estimated 1.3 million women in the U.S. alone enter menopause each year with millions more experiencing perimenopause. Without adequate support, employees’ productivity and job satisfaction can be significantly impacted. Coming soon, Carrot customers will have the option to add comprehensive support for menopause and low testosterone as part of their fertility benefits package. For Carrot members, that means they will now have improved access to providers through a specialized network, clinically supervised education, and intimate group support. Members can opt into a personalized Carrot Plan for menopause or low testosterone, receive telehealth access to specialized experts, participate in expert-led group sessions, access Carrot-vetted providers that support menopause and low testosterone, and receive additional resources as they navigate through the hormonal aging process.

Did you know? Your likelihood of having a spinal fusion can be 3 to 10 times higher, depending on one thing: the physician you choose. And the odds of a mother delivering her baby via C-section varies dramatically, up to 11 times, depending not on her condition, but on which obstetrician she selects.

Matthew Resnick, M.D. and the Embold Health data science team together w/ Harvard Medical School and Zirui Song MD, PhD, published research identifying physician practice variation within geographies. The study was published recently in JAMA Health Forum, a publication of the Journal of the American Medical Association, and evaluated 8,788 doctors in five metropolitan areas over a three-year period.

“We know the simple act of choosing a doctor can have profound consequences and that higher quality care leads to better outcomes and lower costs.” says Daniel Stein, MD, MBA, founder and CEO of Embold Health. “As a doctor-led company, we want to improve care for everyone, and the study validates our scientifically rigorous approach to measuring the quality of care.”

Dr. Song adds, “This type of evidence, if replicated in a rigorous way, may also empower patients, employers, and payers to choose physicians who provide higher value care in their region, allowing consumers voting with their feet to stimulate practice improvement and competition on quality.”

Read Embold’s summary of the academic article and its potential impact on employers here.

How are employers putting this data to work to improve healthcare outcomes and lower costs? Tune in to our recent webinar with Microsoft and Ochsner Health.

Genomic Life is accelerating genomic medicine and proactive health for everyone, by turning personal genetic insights into impactful clinical actions. Understanding an individual’s unique genome helps predict future risk, inform treatment, and drive high-impact approaches to optimize health.

Our genome benefit management program facilitates access to genetic tests and services that yield actionable results. Genomic Life’s current product offering includes three proactive health tests:

The Genetic Health Screen analyzes 147 genes, identifying elevated health risks for cancer, cardiac disease, and other critical illnesses.
The Carrier test uncovers genetic insights from both partners during family planning. These insights help to mitigate the risk of serious illness in their offspring, supporting healthy deliveries and childhoods.
The Pharmacogenomics (PGx) test analyzes the unique way an individual responds to medications to optimize treatment, maximize effectiveness, and minimize side effects.

For members with a cancer diagnosis, we offer Cancer Support Services that deliver personalized support and expert cancer navigation resources.

Genomic Life can transform employee healthcare journeys from impersonal, confusing, and stressful into personalized, predictive, and proactive experiences — providing the information and expertise to members and their doctors precisely when needed.

March 2022

Amazon Care offers immediate access to high-quality medical care enabling members to connect with a provider via chat or video within minutes. Earlier this year Amazon Care announced virtual care services are now available in all 50 states with Care team members available on-demand or by appointment, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The service has two components: 1) virtual care connecting patients to nurses or doctors through live chat or video 2) in-person care, where Amazon Care can dispatch medical professionals to a patients home or office for additional care services.

In 2022, Amazon Care announced the expansion of In-Person Care to 20 major cities. The service is already available in 8 cities across the U.S. Cares’ approach to healthcare, with the ability to be seen in-person, focuses on patients and their changing healthcare needs.

Care teams can provide preventative visits, care for acute needs and even address mild-to-moderate behavioral health concerns as part of our core offering. Our clinicians have experience with both adult and pediatric medicine and providers can refer patients to third-party, in-network providers whenever possible. Plus, visit records are stored in Amazon Care allowing for integrated provider to provider communication. Our care model allows members to build continuous relationships with dedicated care team members and providers over time.

Amazon Care is the benefit you and your employees need. With a simple and engaging experience, patient-centric healthcare and increased access to providers, we look to make health easy for all.

Learn more

March 2022

2022 has already been an exciting year for Big Health! We’re excited to share some Big News that will support our mission of helping millions back to good mental health:

Big Health has raised $75 million in a Series C funding round, led by new investor SoftBank Vision Fund 2. We will use the funding to support growth and further product investments, including plans to launch six new digital therapeutics by 2024.
Big Health also announced the appointment of Gabriela Perez as Chief Commercial Officer. Perez has spent the last two decades scaling leading healthcare technology organizations including Best Doctors and Ovia Health, and her new role will oversee Big Health’s global commercial growth and strategy, including sales, client management, strategic partnerships, and new markets.
Big Health has added former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Deputy Commissioner for Medical and Scientific Affairs Dr. Anand Shah to our Board of Directors. Dr. Shah will take an active role in bolstering our clinical and public policy strategies.
We are proud to shareFierce Healthcare named Big Health to the 2022 Fierce 15 list, for our innovative approach to expanding equitable access to care using digital therapeutics.

Professor Colin Espie,Co-Founder of Big Health, Oxford University Professor of Sleep Medicine, and world-renowned clinical psychologist is launching a Conversations with Colin series, where her will share his perspective on how the mental health crisis impacts us both individually and globally, and how we can take steps towards increasing access to first-line mental health treatments for all.

The Bind plan is a floor-to-ceiling health insurance remodel, redesigned to work how insurance was meant to work. Introduced in 2016 by veteran health insurance innovators, the Bind plan is health insurance designed—finally—like the other useful services of our modern daily lives.

Bind, a UnitedHealthcare® company, offers:

Clarity: clear, upfront copays with lower prices for providers that deliver more efficient and effective care. $0 deductible, no coinsurance.
Experience: an intuitive, digital experience that allows members to check costs and compare options before they make receive care across a broad provider network. The member chooses what works best for them. And if they need help, members have access to exceptional member support.
Savings: a plan that allows employers and members to save by making smarter treatment and provider choices.

Bind is an ACA-compliant health plan solution available to employers with 51+ employees available in all 50 states with over 100 clients and 176,000+ members. In 2020, Bind expanded into the fully-insured group market and is now approved in Florida, Utah, Ohio, Virginia and Georgia, with filings in several other states. In 2022, Bind will continue to enhance the plan by creating an even more intuitive, frictionless digital experience and helping Bind members better understand their benefits through more streamlined interactions.

We look forward to another innovative year in 2022. For more information, visit YourBind.com or contact your Bind representative.

Cleo is excited to announce Cleo Teens as well as several new programs to support the needs of working families from the early days of family planning through parenting adolescents. Cleo Teens supports parents of teenagers (13 - 18 years), including unlimited support from a dedicated Cleo Guide and Cleo specialists to support and coach parents, personalized content and tips in the Cleo app, as well as new and expanded evidence-based programs.

The addition of Cleo Teens enables Cleo to support every family in your workforce–from those considering starting a family through parents of teens–with personalized support.

Embedded within Cleo’s solution are various evidence-based programs designed by clinicians and parenting experts to drive improved family outcomes and navigation of high risk or high complexity parenting and health challenges. Today, these programs span from navigating fertility care, surrogacy & adoption to birth prep & return to work to parental support for pediatric behavioral health. We’re pleased to announce new & expanded support in the following areas:

NICU Concierge: Specialist support for families navigating a NICU stay
Neurodivergence Support for parents navigating a child’s potential or confirmed diagnosis of ADHD or Autism Spectrum Disorder
Expansion of our Mental Health Support to parents at every stage of the family journey
Child Care and Enrichment Concierge: Specialist support finding child care and/or educational enrichment activities that meet a family’s budget

College and Future Planning to help parents create a customized roadmap to support their child in planning for the future

Video Link

February 2022

Anna Engst - 98point6_NewLogo_TD_RGB_Full Color.png

We put technology in the hands of physicians

98point6 combines the expertise of board-certified physicians with the power of AI to deliver quality care with evidence-based standards that lead to healthy outcomes. The service is low/no cost per visit which inspires early and often use.

We redefine primary care

Virtual primary care needs to do more than digitize an encounter, it should transform the experience. From the moment a 98point6 visit begins, there is innovation at every step to diagnose, treat, order labs and prescriptions and help manage common, chronic and behavioral health conditions. Or when needed our doctors will direct patients to other available point solutions.

We demonstrate value and keep customers happy

Our clients range in size and touch all industries including a large roster of healthcare companies that offer their employees 98point6. It’s a combination of clinical excellence with measurable outcomes that keeps them coming back.

We keep expanding

Our behavioral health solution is now available nationwide and continues to be an important part of the whole person health equation. In 2022 we will share new innovations that will extend our technology to touch the needs of those who can benefit most from smart new ways to access care.

February 2022

AccessHope announced the addition of Emory Healthcare and Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University to its novel collaboration of National Cancer Institute (NCI)–Designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers. Emory Healthcare and Winship have joined AccessHope’s three other foundational partners—City of Hope, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Northwestern Medicine and the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University—to extend remote access to specialized cancer expertise for plan members in the Southeastern region. With the addition, AccessHope’s multidisciplinary specialists support people with cancer and their community-based oncologists with subspecialty expertise from every major region of the country to help achieve the best outcomes possible.

AccessHope’s positive impacts on cancer cases were recently published in JCO Oncology Practice, validating its remote model of providing expert case reviews. The company’s subspecialists influenced 93% of lung cancer cases, while patients continued to receive care close to home. The recommendations were associated with clinical outcomes such as improving efficacy, reducing toxicity, and enhancing care. Accompanying the clinical and humanistic benefits was an average savings of $19K per patient.

Today, AccessHope serves 3.3 million members with a cancer support benefit through 75 employers, including 21 Fortune 500 companies.

There are several exciting updates from Accolade following our Behind the Curtain panel presentation. In September 2021, Accolade announced the availability of Accolade One. Accolade One is a value-based solution that blends world-class primary care and mental health with the capabilities of powerful care teams, expert medical opinion and clinical programs that manage the costliest chronic conditions. Other solution features include:

Convenient access to primary care and mental health professionals.
Relationship-based virtual primary care and extended care team support and coordination.
Offered with at-risk pricing that guarantees trend, clinical, and operational outcomes for customers, with incremental shared savings based on performance.

In November, Accolade welcomed Eve Stacey as our new chief customer officer. Stacey partners across the organization to create a cohesive experience for Accolade’s 600 customers. Leveraging her significant integration experience, she is responsible for leading improvements in Accolade’s organizational processes to deliver the best experience for customers. Prior to Accolade, Stacey led marketing, strategy and operations for Microsoft’s U.S. commercial channel.

Accolade introduced a new category of healthcare called Personalized Healthcare along with Rx Savings Solutions, Virta Health and SWORD Health. Personalized Healthcare brings together a healthcare experience for employers and health plans that is centered on human connection and insights from data to deliver value-based care.

December 2021

Update for Hinge Health

Join the 600+ employers tackling high musculoskeletal (MSK) spend with the Hinge Health Digital MSK Clinic.

Hinge Health is building the world’s most patient-centered Digital Musculoskeletal Clinic™. Because one in two Americans experience MSK pain every year, our team is committed to continuously innovating and evolving best-practices MSK care and getting our participants back to doing what they love most.

Hinge Health reduces MSK pain, surgeries, and opioid use by treating the whole person, not just their physical pain. This requires a comprehensive clinical care team of physical therapists, physicians, and board-certified health coaches delivering evidence-based best practices and armed with the latest technology and data intelligence.

Four in five employers and 90% of health plans with a digital MSK solution partner with Hinge Health to provide members access to this comprehensive clinical care team and the industry’s most advanced technology portfolio:

Computer vision and motion sensors for exercise therapy and motion assessments
Hinge Health Enso, a groundbreaking wearable technology for noninvasive and nonaddictive pain relief
HingeConnect for bridging the gap between in-person and digital MSK care and enabling near-real-time interventions by integrating health data with 750,000+ providers

Hinge Health recently announced $400 million in Series E financing, making our total investment around $1 billion. We plan to continue to innovate ways to improve member access and outcomes, create exceptional patient experiences, and avoid unnecessary surgeries. Learn more at http://www.hingehealth.com.

Update for Omada Health

For more than ten years, Omada Health has focused on the effects of long-term health and well-being. Omada’s goal is to inspire and engage people in lifelong health one step at a time. Omada combines behavior science and clinical guidelines across five chronic conditions to help populations identify the things that really motivate them to get healthy.

Omada focuses on long-term behavior change, not short-term results and analyzes billions of data points to constantly innovate care delivery to help every member improve their health in a way that lasts for good. Using data driven insights and deep clinical expertise we provide care plans adapted to members’ needs so they can maintain their engagement over time to get and stay healthy.

Omada’s Insights Lab, the interdisciplinary collaboration and system for innovation within Omada Health, released its first data report to highlight the impact of virtual-first care delivery in chronic disease management. The new report found that personalized coaching significantly improves health outcomes and it outlines additional insights and debunks seven of the most common healthcare industry myths.

https://www.omadahealth.com/industry-beliefs-omada-insights?utm_source=Other%20Publication&utm_medium=Direct&utm_campaign=EHIR&utm_term=&utm_content=OIL-WP

Update for Ovia Health

In addition to being the #1 clinically validated platform that enables women and families to make confident decisions and proactively close gaps in care, Ovia Health is one of the largest perinatal mental health screeners in the world. This year alone, we’ve administered more than 3.6 million digital perinatal mental health surveys, and the data have been staggering.

This data, and the impact of pandemic, has shed light on the cracks in parental support and mental health support in the US workforce. Read more about the findings of our research in this article, What Digital Depression Screener Data are Telling Us about Parental Mental Health.

To learn what your organization can do to help improve parental mental health, and how modernizing and personalizing maternity and family health and benefits at your organization can decrease costs, while improving engagement, DEI and retention at your organization – visit www.oviahealth.com or watch this demo video.

December 2021

November 2021

ConsumerMedical, is now an Alight company

The combination of ConsumerMedical’s clinical depth, advocacy, and expert medical opinion experience delivered via the Alight Worklife platform provides unparalleled opportunities for Alight’s 30 million users to drive better health decisions before, during and after treatment. Alight will provide:

A full, end-to-end healthcare navigation solution
Support for employees to make more informed medical decisions, find the right healthcare provider, and manage complex health conditions
Multi-channel access to doctors and nurses
Help with billing and claim disputes

Alight will also continue to invest in the strong relationships with health plans and carriers ConsumerMedical has built. Leveraging data analytics and personalization, Alight Worklife delivers the engagement needed to ensure people leverage all their employer plans have to offer through multiple experiences and across health, wealth and payroll needs.

“Healthcare navigation plays a pivotal role in addressing every facet of an individual’s healthcare journey,” said Kevin Kickhaefer, CEO of ConsumerMedical. “Combining the respective strengths of ConsumerMedical and Alight will enable the company to provide a comprehensive and integrated experience for employees while improving outcomes, quality of care and lowering healthcare cost.”

Please click here to read more details on the announcement.

Using genetic science, research, and cutting-edge technology to improve lives, reduce healthcare costs, and simplify decision-making for employers, health plans, health systems, and providers around the world is core to everything we do at Coriell Life Sciences.

Right now, we are primarily partnering with large employers and Health Plans to roll out our Corigen® Medication Safety Program. Corigen essentially matches individuals with the right prescription medications for them based on their DNA and many other factors — given that for hundreds of medications, successful treatment is directly related to an individual’s unique genes. In addition to the individual health benefits, Corigen lowers healthcare costs for both individuals and sponsoring organizations by enabling more streamlined and effective care.

Using a data set we’ve built up from pharmacists using our proprietary technology with patients, we are also using machine learning and artificial intelligence to essentially train machines to behave like a pharmacist. This is going to be incredibly impactful for getting medication safety insights to huge numbers of people.

Statistics from across various Corigen programs show participants’ medication regimen adjustments led to a 22 percent reduction in hospitalizations, a 27 percent reduction in slips and falls, and an 11 percent reduction in pharmacy costs. Even if someone is not currently taking medications, participation in the Corigen Medication Safety Program can provide valuable insight that can inform key healthcare decisions for the rest of their life because the DNA an individual is born with does not change over time.

Improving Mental Health Treatment Through Pharmacogenomics

Earlier this year, Modern Health published three peer-reviewed studies that validated the clinical effectiveness of Modern Health’s stepped care model. The research revealed:

46% of members beginning care with depressive-related symptoms showed clinically relevant improvement in wellbeing.
Members who began treatment with elevated levels of burnout reported significant reductions from baseline to follow-up, with 21% no longer reaching the cut-off for burnout
One-on-one coaching had a comparable impact on individual clinical wellbeing as one-on-one therapy. 😲

Shaping The Future of Mental Health

Modern Health also commissioned The Future of Mental Health, a report conducted by Forrester Consulting which surveyed 500+ HR leaders and C-level executives, and 1200+ employees about the future of mental health. The results reveal a disconnect between company leaders and employees. Nearly 80% of employees would be more likely to stay at a company that provides high-quality mental health benefits, yet 67% of leaders plan to eliminate mental health benefits when the pandemic is over.

What We’re Excited About:

NEW Health Plan Integrations
Expanded dependent care to as low as 6 years old.
One-click access to Crisis Resources.
NEW global Circles and digital programs in 10 languages.
NEW Manager-specific workshops and programs.
Streamlined eligibility with NEW HRIS integrations
NEW psychiatric care options
NEW provider demographic filters
NEW self-service reporting dashboard for employers

November 2021

October 2021

Right now, Coriell Life Sciences is primarily partnering with large employers and benefits providers to roll out our Corigen® Medication Safety Program. Corigen essentially matches individuals with the right prescription medications for them based on their DNA and many other factors — given that for hundreds of medications, successful treatment is directly related to an individual’s unique genes.

Happify Health announces two strategic partnerships and the addition of an experienced healthcare IT executive to its leadership team. These partnerships (the first of several to come) and this key hire will optimize and expand access to the Happify platform, and further improve Happify’s secure data architecture.

Happify Health announced a strategic partnership with Higi, a consumer health engagement company, to create an AI-driven patient engagement ecosystem that makes value-based healthcare accessible worldwide. This partnership combines the power of Higi’s consumer health engagement platform, which reaches leading retail and healthcare organizations through a connected network of Smart Health Stations, with Happify Health’s digital platform, which combines digital therapeutics and AI-driven care delivery solutions, to improve mental health, physical health & well-being.

Happify Health has appointed Andy Palan as Chief Information Officer. Palan joins the executive management team with a wealth of experience as a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and CIO in the healthcare space. In his role as CIO, Palan will lead Happify Health’s product development, data strategy and engineering initiatives to help scale the company’s digital therapeutics and care delivery platforms.

The National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) and Happify Health announced a new partnership to improve the lives of those living with psoriatic disease. Kopa is Happify Health’s patient-centric health platform, aimed to improve patient health outcomes through education, peer-to-peer connection, HCP expertise, and mental health support. Through this partnership, NPF and Happify will open the door to new tools for individuals living with psoriatic disease seeking to improve health outcomes. Kopa provides member resources and tools in a single digital platform to curate a journey toward a healthier, happier life. Individuals looking for one-on-one assistance can also contact the NPF Patient Navigation Center via text, email, or phone, to supplement tools available through Kopa

Kaia Health continues to innovate and drive its MSK care solution forward with new funding, a strengthened leadership team, and powerful, new clinical trial results.

Kaia Health received an additional $75 million round of funding to expand its clinical capabilities and care pathways in the U.S. and Europe. The company’s MSK care pathway is supported by Kaia Gateway and Premium Partners, a next-generation, complete MSK care solution delivering consistent outcomes and equitable care based on the industry's largest randomized controlled trial. The successful Series C funding round was followed by the hiring of seasoned executives from the digital health and technology industries. These experienced leaders, who are driving the company’s product innovation and market growth forward, include: a Chief Operations Officer, Vice President of Product, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Revenue Officer, and US Commercial Chief Medical Officer. Further validating our approach, powerful new peer-reviewed research has been published demonstrating that Kaia Health’s computer vision technology is as accurate as a physical therapist in suggesting exercise corrections and audiovisual feedback. Kaia Health was the first to launch mobile computer vision technology for MSK in 2018 and remains the digital MSK care technology market leader, delivering Kaia Health’s computer vision capabilities currently included in its product. These capabilities enable 24/7 physical-therapist-grade feedback on demand, with no hardware needed, and complement Kaia’s clinical care approach through health coaching, tele-physical therapy consultations, and medical case reviews for warm referrals to network partners. Combining human care with superior technology to achieve better outcomes, Kaia Health’s MSK care solution offers a guaranteed ROI and is available to employers and health plans at a significantly lower cost than other digital MSK solutions.

How to Strategically Measure Program Impact Through Data Trends

Each year, there are pivotal moments in your benefits calendar that require you to make key decisions that will optimize your client’s health investment. You should have the tools and data to confidently determine plan design decisions that will help you make program selections with ease and track metrics that highlight the success of your initiatives.

Join the Springbuk team on Sept. 29 for a webinar where they will discuss tactics to:

Demonstrate tactics to initiate plan design with data-driven direction
Turn all your health data into strategic program selection
Explain metrics and solutions to easily evaluate and measure program impact

October 2021

September 2021

Ginger Innovator Update

Maven Innovator Update

With four new Fortune 15 clients and a surge in demand for its all-in-one solution for women’s and family health, Maven Clinic announced a $110 million Series D funding round, the largest-ever for a women’s and family health company.

Dragoneer Investment Group and Lux Capital led the round, and Oprah Winfrey also participated as an investor in Maven’s Series D round.

In the second quarter, Maven brought on its first Chief Medical Officer, Neel Shah MD, MPP, FACOG. A leading physician, researcher, and social entrepreneur, Neel joined Maven from Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where he practiced as an OB-GYN. He brings rich experience operating in all areas of the healthcare ecosystem to his new role designing Maven’s care models and serving as a partner to employers considering how best to support employees and reduce costs. Neel’s many honors include being named one of the “40 smartest people in health care” by Becker’s Hospital Review, and he has written more than 50 peer-reviewed papers and contributed to four books.

Maven also launched new services and brought on additional clinic partners as part of its holistic fertility program, which provides comprehensive support through all family-building journeys, including adoption and surrogacy. Updates include its new concierge pharmacy service, MavenRx, and an expanded international clinic network through partnerships with the largest providers in Ireland and Canada.

Ginger and Headspace will merge to meet escalating global demand for mental health support. The combined entity, Headspace Health, will offer the world’s most accessible and comprehensive digital mental health and wellbeing platform. By coming together at a critical moment of global need, Headspace Health will democratize mental healthcare globally to provide affordable and comprehensive support for everyone. The combined company will use technology to scale affordable, accessible care around the world, reaching nearly 100 million lives across all 50 U.S. states and in 190+ countries worldwide.

Together as Headspace Health, the two companies will serve consumers, employers, and health plans. Their combined expertise in consumer brand, evidence-based interventions, and technology will help improve resilience, reduce stress, and provide treatment to the millions of people experiencing mental health symptoms, from anxiety to depression to more complex diagnoses.

“Headspace and Ginger have a shared recognition that the mental health crisis can’t be solved by simply hiring more therapists or moving care online,” said Russell Glass, CEO of Ginger. “Through this merger, we can uniquely tackle the full spectrum of mental health needs - from prevention to clinical care - all from one integrated platform."

Executive leaders from Headspace and Ginger will host a webcast on September 22, 2021 at 4:00pm EDT, where you can learn more about how meditation, mindfulness, and on-demand mental healthcare have helped leading employers and health plans create healthier and more productive populations. Register by clicking here.

September 2021

August 2021

How to hit a triple play with virtual expert opinions analytics, incentives, and communications?

Virtual expert medical opinions help members make more informed decisions by connecting them to world-class specialists when they need to be sure of a healthcare decision. But they also hit the mark by achieving important engagement goals, better outcomes, and lower costs.

By incorporating these three engagement solutions, employers can take it even further:

Best-in-class predictive analytics
Plan design motivators
Smart communications

At 2nd.MD, clients who use all three see a 204 percent increase in utilization over those that do not.

Identify the right people with predictive analytics

Our proactive outreach program, REACH, engages employees who are on the path to a high-cost medical event. We use a best-in-class predictive algorithm to analyze claims history, surgical prior authorization requests, age, and gender to create a prioritized list of individuals scored according to risk and major diagnostic category.

Our team connects to these high-risk members via phone and/or email about the opportunity to speak to one of the nation’s leading specialists for an expert second opinion.

We see a 58 percent savings increase per household with REACH versus non-REACH. *

Motivate with plan design

Plan design incentives encourage use of second opinions when they are targeted around specific areas of concern. Positive or negative incentives, such as a $400 reward for having an expert medical opinion prior to a specific type of procedure or a similar penalty for not having one, lead to higher utilization.

When employers use both REACH and a penalty/incentive, savings per household increases by 59 percent. *

Inform with smart communications

2nd.MD creates and sends regular direct mail, email, and text messages for our employers. These are timed to include welcome communications, follow-up to inactive members, and engagement campaigns that benefit from expert medical opinions. We handle everything from the production, list, mailing, and postage so employers don’t have to do a thing.

During a recent communications campaign, we engaged with 1.6 million households via direct mail and 110,000 members activated their membership (Quarter 2, 2021).

It works for the employer and the employee

Koch Industries, one of the largest private companies in the U.S, uses all of these 2nd.MD engagement solutions. Matt Hall, benefits strategy manager at Koch, says he feels confident offering their employees 2nd.MD expert medical opinions and it works for the employer too.

“You’re fulfilling that fiduciary responsibility, getting [employees and dependents] the right diagnosis, but then you're also helping support [them], when they need it most,” Hall says.

Koch averages 77 expert medical opinion consults a month. Over a 12-month period, 74 percent had an expert medical opinion as they were considering surgery.

“We're seeing very high NPS [scores]. … 88.” he says, “We’ve had situations where people really have a challenging diagnosis, they've been to multiple doctors, and so they're just looking for some help because they're very confused and really scared, … [2nd.MD is] just a win-win.”

*2020 2nd.MD Book of Business

AccessHope

AccessHope recently announced a foundational partnership to extend nationwide access to our renowned cancer expertise. This novel collaboration better positions us to provide cancer support services that help reduce cancer health disparities in underserved populations while improving cancer outcomes across the country.

AccessHope is pleased to announce that we've partnered with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to further extend our mission nationwide of remotely deploying the latest cancer care knowledge to the places it's needed most, when it's most valuable. The novel collaboration comes at a crucial time, when delays in cancer screenings and treatment due to the COVID-19 pandemic are leading to later-stage diagnoses, and those who need cancer support may be unwilling or unable to travel.

Regardless of their location in the United States, AccessHope's employer plan members and their local oncologists can benefit from the expertise of oncology specialists knowledgeable in groundbreaking insights and leading discoveries. The medical specialists can guide individuals and their treating oncologists to the newest personalized treatments, such as clinical trials or breakthrough medications, and genetic/genomic testing and targeted therapies.

Following AccessHope's national launch as a wholly owned subsidiary of City of Hope, Northwestern Medicine, backed by the Lurie Cancer Center, was the first organization to join AccessHope as a foundational partner in fall 2020. Dana-Farber has joined City of Hope and Northwestern Medicine to extend coast-to-coast access through the vast expertise of these prominent cancer centers for AccessHope members and their local doctors, while bridging the cancer knowledge gap and leveling cancer health disparities. Today, AccessHope serves 2.3 million members with cancer support benefits through 43 employers, including 19 Fortune 500 companies.

Doctor On Demand

Doctor On Demand and Grand Rounds Health acquire Included Health to provide culturally competent, affirming healthcare for the LGBTQ+ community.

Doctor On Demand and Grand Rounds Health acquired Included Health, the leading comprehensive health platform for the LGBTQ+ community.

The LGBTQ+ community often struggles to feel understood by healthcare providers. Studies show many LGBTQ+ people experience discrimination in healthcare, leading them to avoid care altogether. They face greater health disparities than cisgender and heterosexual counterparts and experience mental health issues at higher rates, too. Historically, the medical profession hasn’t adequately represented the community within its own ranks. This has made it difficult for LGBTQ+ patients to find a physician with whom they identify. In short, the health system is failing them.

At Grand Rounds Health and Doctor On Demand, we’re focused on closing the care gap for our LGBTQ+ patients by:

Building a diverse practice: 20% of our providers identify as LGBTQ+
Allowing members to easily choose preferred providers based on gender criteria
Focusing on addressing social determinants of health to reduce healthcare disparities

There’s more work to be done. This is why we’re so excited about our acquisition of Included Health. Since 2020, the company has focused on helping the LGBTQ+ community connect with culturally competent, quality providers, empowering members through education and preventive care awareness, alongside advocating for them — all things the combined Grand Rounds Health and Doctor On Demand team is thrilled to bring to our members.

Healthcare is not one size fits all. Our mission is to raise the standard of healthcare for everyone and we take that seriously.

Hello Heart

Hello Heart is the leading heart health digital therapeutics solution, empowering users to understand and improve their heart health using technology. We have several key updates to share, including:

Funding

In May 2021, Hello Heart completed a $45 million Series C led by IVP. IVP is a top later-stage partner for hypergrowth companies including Coinbase, Lyra Health, Slack, Snap, Twitter, and UiPath, and is one of the strongest growth funds in the world with more than 120 IPOs. Partnering with IVP, Hello Heart will continue its momentum to be a fast-growing independent company.

Commercial Business

We tripled our business over the last year, with many large enterprise (and Fortune 500) employers now offering Hello Heart as part of their benefits programs. Hello Heart is the only digital therapeutic hypertension solution with a peer-reviewed clinical study on blood pressure outcomes. We are part of the American Heart Association's Innovator Network and, after a thorough clinical and security review, CVS Health added Hello Heart to its Point Solutions Management platform (2020). Adding to our existing network of partners, Hello Heart entered into a partnership with Businessolver in June of 2021, and are now a Solution Provider in Businessolver’s Pinnacle Program which allows for seamless, connected enrollment.

Roadmap

Heart-related issues is the #1 cause of death in the world and cardiac claim costs is the top cost factor for benefits teams. Leveraging data science and deep AI, Hello Heart will continue to deliver digital therapeutics for cardiovascular disease. We are expanding our product offering from hypertension to deeper heart health - hyperlipidemia, arrhythmia and home diagnostic tools that can help users catch life threatening situations in time.

Video Link

https://youtu.be/gadagg0NNr0

Vivante Health

Vivante Health expands its product offering to include the GIMate, a first-of-its-kind handheld breath hydrogen monitor. The GIMate, alongside the GIThrive program, helps members identify the root elements of their gut health and feel their best.

The GIMate, the newest addition to the GIThrive program, is a handheld hydrogen breath monitor that harnesses the same technology used by the top digestive health clinics in the world. The GIMate allows members to measure the hydrogen concentration in their breath from the convenience of their home for the first time.

The GIMate, alongside the GIThrive program, helps identify the root elements of their gut health by determining how hydrogen levels, food choices, and GI symptoms interact. The data provided from the GIMate allows the Vivante Health Care Team to develop a personalized health plan to help members feel their best.

In a pilot program, 87% of participants improved their digestive signs, 84% felt healthier, 81% identified sign triggers, and 84% said they now better understand their digestive health.

Pairing the GIMate to the entirety of the GIThrive program creates a comprehensive approach to improve the health outcomes of members and lowers costs for employers by reducing the cost of care for members. The addition of the GIMate is the latest milestone for Vivante Health, the leader in digestive health, as they continue to partner with employers in their accelerated growth trajectory.

August 2021

July 2021

Artemis Health

Artemis Health recently hosted a thoughtful and inspiring benefits analytics conference, Benefits Spark. On March 13th and 14th, benefits leaders from all around the country virtually convened to share success stories, offer advice, and discuss the challenges of taking action with benefits data.

Artemis customers from Travelers, Boeing, UC SHIP, Paychex, Shaw, Portico Benefit Services, HUB International, Mercer, Willis Towers Watson, and Marsh & McLennan Agency spoke about their experiences tackling overspending, addressing chronic conditions, and planning for the future.

Benefits Spark also featured keynote speaker Dr. Marty Makary, author of The Price We Pay. His address centered on the idea of appropriate, precision care as a way to achieve both cost efficiencies and better outcomes for patients. If you’d like to catch up on these sessions, you can find them on-demand at www.benefitsspark.com.

Artemis Health is also pleased to share an upcoming product enhancement that we’re calling Program Dashboards. One of the trickiest parts of benefits data analytics is measuring the success of your benefits programs. It’s not easy to choose the right metrics, measure results, and arrive at a clear view of whether programs are delivering value.

This spring, EHIR members participated in focus groups to help Artemis align on employer needs for program measurement. We discussed best practices and gathered insights from top employers on how they might use a feature like this. Program Dashboards, coming Fall 2021, will address these challenges, helping Artemis customers see which programs are working and which aren’t.

Big Health

Big Health, a digital therapeutics company dedicated to helping millions back to good mental health, along with the Employer Health Innovation Roundtable (EHIR), introduces the results from the first-of-its-kind Mental Health Maturity Index (MHMI) survey examining the mental health ‘maturity’ levels of 35 large U.S.-based employers covering more than 2.5 million lives.

Big Health and EHIR introduce Mental Health Maturity Index, measuring employer progress toward better mental health.

Survey representing more than two million lives finds companies embracing mental health support but lack meaningful measures of success.

Benefits leaders are busier than ever. And creating a mental health strategy that is scalable, effective, and supports a diverse set of employee needs is an enormous challenge.

Alongside the Employer Health Innovation Roundtable (EHIR), Big Health created a benchmark report that provides insight into how 35+ of the most innovative companies are performing when it comes to supporting workplace mental health. Using data from the industry-first Mental Health Maturity Index (MHMI), this report provides HR and benefits teams with a glimpse into:

The successes and challenges faced by leading employers’ in 2020 & 2021
How your mental health strategy ranks relative to the nation’s biggest companies
Three ways to quickly improve your mental health strategy
Workplace mental health insights and analysis from leading mental health clinicians

“Investment in mental health is a new priority for many employers, but slow movement to support mental health impacts employee and customer experience and puts business resiliency at risk,” wrote Forrester Principal Analyst Arielle Trzcinski in her blog. “The [MHMI] survey was co-led by Big Health and the Employer Health Innovation Roundtable, and sheds a bright light on the different dimensions in the large disconnect that exists between senior management and workers within organizations when it comes to employee mental health.”

Download the full report to see the survey results and learn three ways to better support employee mental health in 2021 and beyond.

Or if you haven’t done so already, take the Mental Health Maturity Index survey to receive a detailed and measurable plan to address specific gaps in your mental health benefits strategy.

About Big Health

Big Health’s mission is to help millions back to good mental health with evidence-based digital therapeutics for the most prevalent mental health issues. Big Health is charting the future of digital medicine by providing an inclusive, scalable, and affordable approach based on industry-leading peer-reviewed research and randomized control trials. By seamlessly integrating across the care pathway, from member engagement to billing via pharmacy benefit managers, Big Health simplifies adoption for both payers and patients, improving access to mental health care. For more information, please visit www.bighealth.com.

Genome Medical

Genome Medical is a digital health company and a nationwide specialty medical group that helps employers leverage genetic care to improve employee health and manage health care benefit costs. We provide virtual genetic services and educate employees to make informed testing decisions and accelerate identification of high-risk individuals.

Genome Medical is a digital health company and a nationwide specialty medical group. We leverage our technology platform and digital infrastructure to enable access to virtual genetic care for employers and their employees.

Genome Medical has expanded its technology infrastructure to accelerate delivery of virtual genomic medicine via its Genome Care NavigatorTM (GCN) platform. This tech-forward solution provides employees with genomic education, risk assessment, care navigation and expedited access to genetic counselors and geneticists in the areas of reproductive health and hereditary cancers. GCN empowers employees to identify and understand their own genetic health risks and get appropriate testing and treatment earlier, optimizing their care to potentially avoid costly medical procedures.

To enhance the employee care experience, Genome Medical recently incorporated Health Heritage, a family medical history and genomic decision support application, into Genome Care Navigator. This automates the collection of an employee’s family health history, ensuring that employees are provided with the best, most efficient clinical care during their genomic health journey.

Genome Medical accelerates the availability, efficiency and effectiveness of genomic medicine through digital health tools and an unmatched virtual clinical team, including medical geneticists, genetic counselors, pharmacists, primary care physicians and other specialists. When employers partner with Genome Medical, employees are empowered with the information and resources they need to be proactive and make more informed, accurate decisions about preventive screening, diagnostic testing and results management to improve their and their family’s care.

July 2021

June 2021

98point6

98point6 on-demand, text-based primary care helps employers reduce total healthcare costs and increase engagement. Learn more about their latest partnerships, recent fundraising and new integrated behavioral health offering.

Meet 98point6:

98point6 combines the expertise of world-class physicians with the power of artificial intelligence to provide more accessible, affordable primary care. Board-certified physicians diagnose, treat, order labs and prescriptions and help manage common, chronic and behavioral health conditions. The service is low/no cost per visit which inspires early and often use.

Satisfied Customers:

98point6 partners with employers, health plans, health systems and retailers. Clients include Boeing, Circle K, Chipotle, Red Bull, Sam’s Club, Kindercare, Seattle Children’s and Aetna. They’ve also recently launched a collaboration with Quest Diagnostics to deliver text-based primary care following employer-sponsored biometric and laboratory health screenings.

Loyal and Engaged Patients:

Technology augmentation empowers physicians to practice at the top of their license, resulting in a care model that’s patient- and quality-focused. With a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 66, a return-user rate of 52% and 91% of patients saying they would use the service again, patient satisfaction exceeds that of traditional telemedicine.

May 2021

Cancer Guardian

Employers are committed to new benefits that promote proactive health. Cancer Guardian by Genomic Life is an offering that helps prevent and manage cancer. Members of the program now receive new, expanded enhancements to the hereditary risk screening.

More than 300 employer group clients provide Cancer Guardian. This differentiating employee benefit opens access to clinical-grade genomic testing. Understanding your risk for developing hereditary cancers, cardiovascular diseases, and additional conditions allows employees to take charge of their health.

The Annals of Internal Medicine report that one in five adults may have risk markers for rare diseases or genetic mutations associated with cancer.

The expanded hereditary risk screening from Cancer Guardian now covers 147 genes, 61 for cancer and 86 other genes for a number of inherited diseases and conditions.

Moreover, if diagnosed with cancer, members receive comprehensive genomic profiling that analyzes more than 300 cancer-related genes in the tumor. Nurse navigators will support the employee with insights and decision support concerning diagnosis and treatment, and evaluate clinical trial and financial assistance eligibility.

According to ONCOLOGY®, COVID-19 caused cancer screening rates to hit historic lows. Oncologists expect to see a spike in cancer diagnosis over the next 1-3 years. This increase means employers need to adopt a comprehensive cancer support program as a way to manage costs and promote positive health outcomes.

Mark your calendar for the Genomic Life Conference, June 10, 2021. Registration information will be forthcoming to EHIR in the coming weeks.

Cleo

Cleo is proud to announce our Series C funding. With this exciting news we're energized to continue building toward the more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce we imagine.

Since 2016, Cleo has been dedicated to creating a future where working families thrive—work that has never been more important than in this past year. That’s why we’re so pleased to announce our $40M Series C round of funding that will power the next phase of our mission.

As we look ahead to the new era of family support, we are called to work together with employers, health providers, policy makers, and parents to create a world where all working parents thrive.

Cleo’s member outcomes make it clear our personalized, proactive support is instrumental to an engaged, inclusive, and healthy workforce:

92% of Cleo members return to work on time post parental leave
85% report that Cleo’s support made them more confident in their return to work
47% lower low-risk cesarean birth rate than the US national average, a major driver of maternity costs for employers
50% of members with identified mental health needs reported improvement in status within 6 weeks through our Perinatal Mental Health Program

Cleo’s vision is to create an experience for families that fully supports them through growing their family, navigating their own health, and thriving in their career. This goal remains as urgent and important as ever.

When we invest in working families, we all win.

Grand Rounds

Leaders in navigation and telehealth merge to form a new integrated virtual healthcare company.

In March 2021, Grand Rounds Health and Doctor On Demand announced their plans to merge and form a first-of-its-kind integrated virtual care model to address the $300 billion problem of uncoordinated care in the U.S. healthcare system. The combined company — led by Owen Tripp, current CEO of Grand Rounds Health — will integrate the administrative and delivery side of healthcare through technology, data science, and a diverse multidisciplinary clinical team. This merger brings together the complementary capabilities of data-driven clinical navigation and telehealth to drive greater member satisfaction, better care, and cost savings. Read the CNBC feature story to learn more.

Naturally Slim

Coming soon: Wondr Health, Formerly Naturally Slim

As you know by now, come May 13th, we’re becoming Wondr Health. The thing is, it’s not just a rebrand for us, it’s an opportunity to recommit to what we’ve always stood for and build on what 15+ years in the industry taught us.

With this rebrand, we’re not leaving our foundations— we’re highlighting them.

Every element of our brand was intentionally designed to reflect the core values of our

company and what we’ve always stood for.

Our participants are the heart of our company, and now, the core of our brand. We asked our participants what they wanted to see in our new brand, then built it around them and for them. In fact, we nixed models and used real participants, as the faces and voice of Wondr. The Wondr brand was built to celebrate the successes of our participants– big or small. From lowering their A1C to running around with their grandchildren, our participants experience real life change that you’ll see in your claims reports.

Our logo and emblem were created to welcome participants into a world where diet culture is flipped upside down, weight loss is a science, and good habits last. From our name to our logo, every element of our brand was intentionally designed to reflect the core values of our company and create a world where better health is for everyone.

And that’s not all.

Take a deep dive into our new brand and product updates here.

Plus, get a sneak peek into the Wondr Health participant experience.

One Medical

One Medical brings its modernized, membership-based primary care model in Austin, and we've partnered with Ascension Texas to facilitate more seamless access and coordinated care across primary care and specialty care services.

One Medical launched in Austin this spring, with new medical office locations and its digital health services over the next 12 months, and will clinically and digitally integrate with Ascension Texas providers and sites of care in the community. Both organizations aim to achieve greater care coordination between primary and specialty care settings, advance an exceptional experience for consumers and employers, and reduce administrative burdens and costs.

Austin is One Medical’s 13th metropolitan market, with 90 locations, following its anticipated entry into Atlanta, Georgia, Portland, Oregon, and Orange County in 2020. One Medical also plans to expand to Houston, Texas, Raleigh, North Carolina, and Columbus, Ohio in the next year.

As a primary care practice focused on providing exceptional care that fits into real life, we combine human-centered design, smart use of technology, salaried providers, and 24/7 access to care in a membership-based model. By making it easier and more enjoyable to get care, we help organizations keep their teams happier and healthier -- and lower healthcare costs. We’re excited to extend this to employers based in Austin with employees in Texas and beyond.

“At One Medical we are advancing on our vision to delight our communities, our members, and our enterprise clients with better health and better care, while reducing costs,” said Amir Dan Rubin, Chair & CEO of One Medical. “We have continued to see our human-centered and technology-powered model deliver impacts at scale--expanding to serve 549,000 members and more than 8,000 employer clients, and enabling more than 5 million digital and in-person interactions during 2020.”

Eager to learn more about bringing this modern primary care benefit to your workforce? Inquire here.

May 2021

April 2021

Bind

With upfront costs, intuitive design and savings opportunities, innovative health plan offering is win-win solution for employers and employees.

Health is personal. Now health insurance is too.

Introduced in 2016 by veteran health insurance innovators, the Bind plan is health insurance designed—finally—like the other useful services of our modern daily lives.

Costs and choices are transparent and easy to compare. Members no longer have deductibles or coinsurance standing in their way or diluting their plan’s power. Members have access to a broad network of doctors, clinics and hospitals available, and our intuitive MyBind app puts helpful information they need—including coverage and savings options—in the palm of their hand. The Bind On-Demand plan also gives members personal control over how some elements of their benefit works for them—with the ability to shape and change portions of their health plan as their health needs change.

Bind was honored to recently be recognized as an EHIR Impact Award recipient for demonstrating the most meaningful results through member implementations in 2020. Also, in the last year, Bind proudly launched Bind Basic, an alternative plan that does not require members to activate flexible coverage for certain plannable treatments and procedures—making payroll integration and rollout for employers even easier. Additional recent investments have focused on:

Further advancement of search accuracy and usability

Strengthening the condition-first features of search
Continued expansion of coverage by value
Research and development focused on improving health inclusivity to address disparities

We’re looking forward to another innovative year in 2021. For more information on Bind, visit YourBind.com or contact your Bind representative.

Meru Health

In addition to their award-winning digital treatment solution for depression, anxiety and burnout, Meru Health has added customized mental health coaching services to reach a broader population within an employer group to improve well-being, resiliency and stress. Meru Health has the most advanced research in the market, with proven ROI/cost-savings and strong completion rates to close the gap in mental healthcare services.

Meru Health’s total mental health solution focuses on the whole person and provides immediate access to care with a comprehensive (mind & body), integrated approach that measures, improves and scales your population's care resulting in long-lasting outcomes. It is a solution that meets the need of your entire population.

Step 1: Mental Well-Being Assessment that provides a snapshot into your organizations mental health status.

Step 2: Care coordination for your employees into the right level of care:

For moderate to severe symptoms (Clinical/Digital):

Meru Health’s 12-week comprehensive app-based treatment combines therapist and psychiatrist support, a biofeedback training device, anonymous peer support, meditation practices, & habit-changing activities for sleep, nutrition, etc.

From stress to mild symptoms (Coaching):

Meru Health’s customized coaching program combines video coaching sessions, evidence-based content for increasing resiliency and emotional intelligence and proactive care support from a dedicated behavioral health coach.

Step 3: Reporting back to you showing utilization, engagement and effectiveness of the program.

Link to Meru Health Video: https://vimeo.com/429217909

Onduo

Onduo adds new conditions to its virtual care platform to provide multi-condition support, underpinned by a powerful predictive analytics engine that matches the right care to the right member at the right time to deliver personalized care at scale.

Video: https://vimeo.com/292144924

Onduo is excited to share with the EHIR membership our latest expansion update—the ability to address multiple conditions on the same telemedicine platform, streamlining the experience for our partners with only one vendor to manage. Onduo’s expanded new focus includes hypertension, weight management, and diabetes prevention—as well as additional Spanish language capabilities which complement our initial type 2 diabetes solution. Additional solutions on the roadmap include behavioral health and musculoskeletal offerings.

Onduo, along with its parent company Verily, continues to invest in developing the technology and predictive analytics to create a program personalized and optimized for each member. This cornerstone of Onduo’s differentiated capabilities is the ability to securely and rapidly evaluate multi-sourced data streams to understand the unique profiles of each individual, or their “digital phenotype.” Through its contracted relationships and member-level user agreements, Onduo accesses individual-level data based on available medical and pharmacy claims, paired device data, and medication data, along with the individual’s interaction with the Onduo app and care team, which the Onduo Advanced Real-time Cohort (ARC) engine uses to build each digital phenotype.

The ARC engine uses the digital phenotype, evaluates a member’s condition and status and applies behavior change theory to identify opportunities for change that are the most impactful. Onduo can assign personalized messaging, trigger the right clinical outreach, escalate members for a telemedicine visit, and prompt a medication review—all of which is optimized to encourage the right action by the individual, improve engagement, and help support long-term health improvements.

Rx Savings Solutions

Onduo Expands to Holistic Multi-Condition Platform

Rx Savings Solutions builds on 2020 success, including a 100% increase in new EHIR clients and 99% revenue retention across the book of business. With an aggressive product and feature roll-out planned for 2021, RxSS is poised to offer a more powerful pharmacy transparency solution and deliver savings for employers and their members.

Despite a global pandemic, Rx Savings Solutions continued its growth trajectory in 2020 – adding clients, product offerings and employees. Momentum continues into 2021. Since our last update, RxSS signed clients in some of the hardest-hit industries like healthcare, travel and manufacturing. We now serve 40 Fortune 500 clients and 10 EHIR member organizations.

Client updates:

202% increase in EHIR members – now serving 875,000 EHIR members, and nearly 9 million across our book of business.
100% increase in EHIR clients – added Boeing, United, Hearst, McKesson, Medtronic and expanded to serve NextEra’s pre-65 retirees.
99% revenue retention – 15 clients with 2020 renewals extended their contracts. Collectively, they’ve saved over $64 million.

Product/partner updates:

Native mobile app has launched, and integration with home delivery partner is now complete.
AdminRx for care coordination and TIERxCheck, a real-time benefit tool, are launching this month. These products are being piloted by select health plan clients for better end-to-end care for members and to address CMS 4190-F.
Our Specialty Pharmacy Analytics package and revamped member portal are launching later this year.
RxSS established strategic partnerships with Welltok and Virgin Pulse to provide more seamless member experiences and drive pharmacy benefit education and engagement.

Finally, with CMS 9115-F regulations looming in 2022 and beyond, RxSS is poised to help employers navigate the shifting market. Our software meets the pharmacy requirements today that CMS is mandating three years from now. And our team is working with strategic partners to best support employers across the full spectrum of healthcare transparency.

Video landing page: https://rxsavingssolutions.com/stories

YouTube link for John G. video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OinlB0ZLn3o

April 2021

March 2021

Carrot Fertility

Carrot Fertility, the leading global fertility benefits provider for employers, was launched in 2016 and has since made high-quality fertility care accessible to more than 100,000 people at 150+ companies in over 50 countries worldwide. Carrot offers a customizable clinical and financial benefit that supports every path to parenthood equally.

Carrot members receive access to our clinically-managed program that includes Carrot Rx, a premium pharmacy experience with significant savings; our complete fertility and pregnancy telehealth platform, with support for egg freezing, in vitro fertilization (IVF), donor and gestational carrier services, and adoption; and the Carrot Card®, a globally-available flexible fertility benefits debit card employees can use to pay for their care without having to wait for reimbursement.

Throughout 2020, our focus was on improving access to fertility care worldwide amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. This included:

Launching Carrot Rx and Carrot Pregnancy to make at-home, quality care more accessible from pre-pregnancy to postpartum
Focusing on culturally competent care and health equity, including the launch of our BIPOC provider finder that allows members to request to be matched with a BIPOC provider at a Carrot in-network facility
Partnering with Ava to give members a structured path towards pregnancy when more expensive and invasive treatments like IVF are not necessary, not available, or not preferred
Expanding Carrot Card coverage to include our members outside the U.S.
Expanding coverage to over 50 countries

We look forward to sharing even more updates in 2021!

Carrum Health

Hello EHIR members! At Carrum Health, we’ve pioneered a new way to pay for and deliver healthcare. Our Centers of Excellence platform makes getting world-class surgery easier and less expensive for your employees and saves your organization up to 50% on common high-cost claims. We seamlessly integrate with your health plan and use technology to simplify the implementation process.

In the past 12 months, we’ve experienced massive growth and we’re honored to help employers achieve significant savings, especially during the pandemic.

Some of our major updates:

We’ve added new premier COEs to our network including Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic, Tenet Healthcare, OrthoIndy, Premier Spine Care, and many more. Roughly 80% of the U.S. population is now within driving distance of a Carrum COE.
We’ve welcomed many employers as new clients including Charter Communications, Walgreens, Prudential, 3M, and Sodexo who are already seeing great savings.
We raised $40M to deliver an even bigger impact for patients and employers. We’ll be enhancing our technology, expanding our COE network, and adding more care services.

Our Next Innovation: Taking on Cancer

We’re proud to announce that we’ve designed the industry’s first-ever cancer care bundles in partnership with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in NY. These innovative cancer bundles allow your employees to get exceptional guidance and treatment including surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy without worrying about medical bills, while you receive significant savings. Read the announcement.

To learn more about Carrum’s offerings and get a complimentary savings analysis, email Brook@carrumhealth.com

Grokker

It’s Personal: The Business Case for Caring

Failure to keep up with the needs of today's workforce is costing businesses billions of dollars every year.

The mismatch between what employees need and what companies are providing goes beyond outdated business practices — people's mindsets have changed along with workforce demographics. If they don't feel cared for they'll vote with their feet. So what you need to do is identify what they want and need (hint: it’s more than just a paycheck!) and use those insights to create a new employee value proposition that's good for them and your business.

However, words alone won’t prove that your company is a truly caring one. You need to show it, model it, and reinforce it – because in this case, actions really do speak louder than words. You’ll need to keep your new program on track by ensuring every employee is treated as a whole person, measuring only what matters, keeping yourself — and your team — honest, and celebrating the little wins along the way.

In this short video, you’ll hear Lorna Borenstien, CEO of Grokker and author of the book, It’s Personal: The Business Case for Caring, talk about:

Why it’s imperative that you demonstrate care for your employees that’s consistent with your employees’ needs and expectations

Why you must understand your business and culture goals, identify the influencers, and sell your vision for a better future
How to inculcate wellbeing into your culture so employees can see, believe, and live your shared values

Watch the Video

Modern Health

Modern Health, a mental health and wellness platform supporting 220+ enterprises globally with 1:1 therapy and coaching, group sessions, and digital tools, announced in February that less than four months after closing a $51 million Series C raise, the company has secured an additional $74 million in its Series D. This investment brings the company’s total funding to over $170 million in less than two years and raises its valuation to $1.17 billion, making Modern Health the fastest entirely female-founded company in the U.S. to reach unicorn status.

The Series D round comes amid a period of rapid growth for Modern Health, as recent events—including the COVID-19 pandemic, financial uncertainty, remote work burnout, political unrest, and racial violence—have emphasized the longstanding need for better mental health support for employees. Among recent milestones, Modern Health:

Launched 25 new enterprise customers in January 2021 alone, adding to its roster of established clients like Pixar, Clif Bar, Zendesk, and Carta
Earned a 2020 NPS of 71 among members and 74 among providers
Sustained an average provider session rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars while increasing covered lives by 5x.

In addition, Modern Health recently announced the acquisition of mental health startup Kip to further expand the company’s suite of mental health solutions and analytics. Founded in 2015, Kip connects users with qualified therapists and arms them with the tools to track observations, feedback, and outcomes about their mental health journey. The acquisition will allow Modern Health to further strengthen analytics and outcome tracking, as well as the relationships between Modern Health’s therapists and coaches and the members they serve.

In 2021, Modern Health has an ambitious roadmap focused on offering new forms of care, improved digital experiences, and advanced reporting and analytics capabilities for our clients and partners.

March 2021

February 2021

Spring Health

Thanks for your interest in learning more about our recent updates! If you need a quick refresher on Spring Health, check out this short overview video.

Beyond our Series B funding round, here are a few recent, exciting initiatives to share:

We’ve expanded our global offering.

We’ve significantly enhanced our international offering, including the launch of a global EAP replacement product. Our first global EAP partner had 25% of their employee population enroll with Spring Health in their very first week.

We’ve begun fully replacing traditional EAPs.

Our new EAP replacement product launched in Q4, combining our precision mental healthcare with industry-leading EAP services across work/life, financial/legal, CISM, and training.

We’ve enhanced our digital CBT solution.

In Q4, we released Moments, our library of digital exercises for mental well-being. We recently expanded our library to include over 100 on-demand exercises spanning across 18 categories including burnout, body image, self-esteem, breakups, and career. Get a sneak peek of Moments with this short video.

We’ve developed a methodology for evaluating quality of care in real-time.

We introduced Candela, the industry’s first technology for monitoring provider quality in real-time, across a variety of qualitative and quantitative metrics. Candela allows us to consistently measure the health and quality of our provider network, ensuring our ability to offer only the best providers to our members.

In addition to these things, we’ve recently released a ton of new content! Some highlights include:

Webinar Recording: Sleep, Mental Health and Workplace Wellness

EBook: 2021 Guide to Mental Health Benefits

EBook: Burnout Nation

And we’re constantly updating our blog - check it out if you haven’t already.

Let's eliminate barriers to mental health for your team, together.

Wellthy

After closing out 2020 as EHIR’s top innovator with the most implementations, Wellthy is thrilled to continue partnering with the organization and its members in 2021.

Wellthy knows the ins and outs of family care, so your employees don’t have to. With a team of experienced care professionals and intuitive technology, we support employees and their families with caregiving and childcare needs.

By tackling the logistical and administrative tasks of care, Wellthy helps increase productivity, improve retention, and reduce time away, all while giving people the support they desperately need to care for themselves and their families.

Notable Wellthy updates for 2021:

Wellthy’s scalable solution has been put to the test over the last year, and we’re excited to share we’ve grown 3x since the beginning of 2020, with over 700K covered lives.
Our diverse book of business includes 18 Fortune 500 clients and 12 EHIR members.
EHIR member launches over the past 12 months include Best Buy, Delta, Facebook, Fidelity Investments, Harvard Business School, HP (pilot), Medtronic and Nasdaq.
We’re continuing to help families in all care-related aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including support, advocacy and guidance throughout the vaccination process.
Wellthy rolled out our childcare support offering in May, and we’ve since seen great adoption and engagement among new and existing partners.
In 2021, Wellthy is laying a foundation for global expansion, beginning with offering support to current partners across the U.K. and Canada.

Exclusive offer for EHIR members:

If you could use support relating to the vaccine, or other aspects of family care, Wellthy is offering 1 free care project to each EHIR member company to support you and those you care for. This can be leveraged for yourself, a relative, or anyone in your circle of care. If you’d like to take Wellthy up on this offer, simply email kimberly@wellthy.com with “EHIR” in the subject line and they’ll get you set up.

December 2020

Hello Heart

Start With The Heart!

Hello Heart launched our hypertension solution in 2015 and since then, has implemented over 40 Fortune 500 clients and has 1.5 million covered lives in our clinically-based program. Every participant receives a wireless blood pressure monitor and real-time personalized tips on their smartphone. The solution is easy to use and helps participants improve their heart health in a fun and engaging way. Our results are best in class, averaging a 24 point reduction in systolic blood pressure after 12 months.

Partnerships and integrating into payer workflows were a significant focus. Partnerships with health plans and other ecosystem partners make the contracting, implementation and billing process seamless for employers. Our inclusion with CVS/Caremark’s Point Solution Management program was launched in March; this has generated significant traction and interest from both carve-out CVS/Caremark clients as well as carve-in solutions with Aetna. We’ve also expanded our carrier arrangements to bill through claims with Aetna, Anthem, Cigna and United Healthcare.

Our roadmap for 2020 was very aggressive! General categories for innovation included expansion in heart health, closing gaps in care, accessibility/inclusion and ecosystem integrations. Our developers added the below capabilities and innovations; many of which were made to enhance the remote monitoring user experience during COVID:

Hypertension crisis alerts and 911 calling from the app
Stress management self-assessment tool with activities participants can do from home and help them relax
Irregular heartbeat detection
Hyperlipidemia tracking (Q4 release)
Clinical reporting to any provider or care team member
Remote training for clinical and coaching teams
Gender-specific hypertension symptoms guidance
Full Spanish support
Integration to Apple Heath and Google Fit to EMR.

On to our 2021 roadmap-we have more innovations to come!

We look forward to continued strong results, partnerships and innovations in the New Year!

2nd.MD

Employer Sees Fewer MSK Surgeries and Major Savings Using a Unique Plan Design

Many of the millions of people suffering from an injury or long lasting musculoskeletal (MSK) pain end up seeing an orthopedic specialist and considering surgery. But how do you help employees understand that surgery isn’t always necessary?

Often exercise, physical therapy, and medication work just as well. One study showed that more than 34 percent of doctors recommended more conservative treatment to patients who sought a second opinion after their doctor recommended spinal surgery.*

Knowing this, one employer with a high number of MSK surgeries implemented a disincentive. Employees who didn’t complete a no-cost 2nd.MD expert medical consultation before a hip, back, knee, or spine procedure were assessed a $400 penalty.

Employees were connected to a leading specialist for a one-on-one virtual consultation. Speed is always important, but time is especially critical when surgery is already scheduled. 2nd.MD handles all the details, including employee sign off on the release of information, the collection of pertinent medical records, and scheduling the call between the specialist and employee. For this employer the average turnaround time, from employee sign-off to consulting with the specialist, was 1.53 days.

Those who participated said they had never received such personalized attention and understood their condition and treatment options much better after their call with the specialist. The employer saw the following results:

25% of surgeries were cancelled
28% of consultations led to an alternate diagnosis
79% of employees received improved treatment plans
Average cost savings per case was $4,500**
The employer realized $7 million in cost savings from 1/17 - 12/19

Get More Information on Plan Design Results in MSK Claims Cost Savings Case Study

*Second opinion for degenerative spinal conditions: an option or a necessity? August 17, 2017

**Includes 100% of consultations, including those with only a doctor visit saved

December

November 2020

Grand Rounds

Blueprint for a healthy return to work in the era of COVID-19

With COVID-19 still rising in some geographies—and a vaccine months away, companies are facing the challenge of coming up with a systematic approach to safely reopening their worksites. To help you with your planning, we’re sharing a detailed blueprint that offers a model for how to use epidemiological expertise and extensive data to help ensure a healthy return to work. The deep dive covers:

Forecasting
Testing and tracking
Workplace attendance
Workplace preparedness
Navigation and administrative support
Clinical response
What comes next
Additional considerations

Use this blueprint to help your company develop plans to reopen the workplace, keeping employees safe from COVID-19.

Download the eBook

Naturally Slim

Naturally Slim® (NS) recently announced life-changing physical and mental wellbeing results achieved by program participants during the COVID-19 crisis. More than 40,000 people who started NS between February and June of 2020 achieved consistent and clinically-meaningful weight loss across all demographics, as well as significant improvements in their mental wellbeing, mood, energy levels, resiliency, sleep, and overall quality of life.

While the pandemic has caused heightened levels of stress and anxiety for many Americans, NS’ clinically-proven program has armed participants with the necessary tools to successfully navigate these uncertain times. In fact, results signal that even during one of the most challenging periods in modern history, NS participants have thrived, developing skills to build resilience and better manage any potential threats to their overall physical and mental wellbeing.

Totaling more than to 200,000 pounds between February and June of this year, NS participants achieved significant weight loss, with women averaging 8.9 pounds and men averaging 13.1 pounds mid-way through the program. In addition, participants have improved their overall mental health and wellbeing – which is critical in today’s “new normal” – reporting that:

70.1% increased their physical activity;
60.3% gained overall confidence;
58.0% improved their mood;
63.1% increased their energy levels;
33.5% improved their quality of sleep.

Naturally Slim knows that it’s not only your employees who have been challenged during the pandemic, but also you and your teams. To support EHIR members, NS developed a special online toolkit to provide a variety of resources for you to share with your team and employees as you see fit during this uncertain time covering topics like stress management, healthy sleep habits, optimizing immunity, staying connected with others while socially isolated, creating structure while working from home, and much more.

You can learn more about NS’ results during the pandemic here: https://go.naturallyslim.com/exceptions.

You can access the toolkit here: https://go.naturallyslim.com/now-is-the-time-ehir.

For more information, connect with Naturally Slim.

November

October 2020

Ginger

Ginger recently announced a $50 million Series D funding round to advance our vision of a world where mental health is never an obstacle and accelerate access to our on-demand mental healthcare system. With this investment, we are building on our technology to cost-effectively deliver high-quality care, and expand our relationships with strategic partners, national and regional health plans, and employers of all sizes. We are continuing to advance our research efforts as well. Earlier this year, we formed the Ginger Advisory Board, bringing together world renowned experts from MIT, Massachusetts General Hospital and the University of Washington to advise on Ginger’s research, clinical and product innovation.

As part of our commitment to providing access to mental healthcare anytime and anywhere, we are growing our global presence. This year, we expanded our on-demand coaching services to over 10 countries around the world, bringing our global footprint to 30 countries and counting. We have continued to also expand our in-app content experience and coach-led workshops, delivering relevant support to Ginger members during times of crisis - whether it’s a natural disaster, racial injustice, or a pandemic. In response to these unprecedented circumstances, we have made many of our member resources available to the general public for free through Ginger Roots. We encourage you to share Ginger Roots with your employees on your internal channels

Lastly, we are excited to share that BCG, an EHIR member, has just launched Ginger.

Ginger is here to partner with employers and navigate this difficult time together.

Modern Health

Hello from all of us at Modern Health! We’re the comprehensive mental health solution setting a new standard for today's employers -- with a mission to destigmatize mental health care and help as many people as possible learn the tools for mental wellness and resilience. Our global platform is built on evidence-based principles with therapists, coaches, and digital content accessible all in one cohesive app to support your entire workforce. It’s personalized, preventative care with the right level of support at the moment it’s needed.

We support 120+ companies globally including Pixar, ElectronicArts, Zendesk, Postmates, TripActions, Gusto, Udemy, Nextdoor, Eventbrite, as well as a Fortune 50 client who employs a workforce of 100K+. We have providers speaking 35+ languages in 30+ countries, and we currently match users to a therapist within 12 hours and instantly to a coach.

More recently, we’ve designed and delivered 300+ custom workshops to support our clients and the broader community with COVID-19 support, including social isolation, parenting during the pandemic, healing from racial trauma, and support for frontline workers and non-profit organizations. Modern Health employees review our company with 5-stars on Glassdoor including a 100% CEO approval rating, and we’re certified as a Great Place to Work.

According to Diane Menicucci, Senior Global Benefits Manager at Okta: "I’m not sure what we would have done without Modern Health in the early days of the pandemic. Your team has been so nimble and proactive, and your service has been such an asset to our employees. Thank you!"

October

September

September 2020

Hinge Health

Working from home is the new normal as many organizations continue to implement remote work in response to COVID-19. To discover how working from home is impacting the physical and mental health of employees, Hinge Health conducted a survey of 900+ US workers.

Lack of movement was cited as a top challenge, with 45% of remote workers suffering from back and joint pain. To see the increasing health risks posed by the remote workplace, click to read the report.

Bind

Bringing an innovative DNA to employee health benefit options

As a purpose-driven company, Medtronic pushes to explore new ways to deliver enhanced benefits to its 90,000 employees. Its benefits team evaluates the company’s health insurance plans every year to reassess whether the company is providing the highest-quality offerings to employees. The goal is to strike a balance between offering a competitive plan that gives employees access to the highest-quality care while easing the cost burden. In today’s health insurance climate, that’s a challenge. Then, the company discovered Bind.

After consulting with Bind to make sure a plan could be designed in a way that checked all of the company’s boxes, Medtronic rolled out Bind in 2019 as an option for eligible employees across three states.

In the first year, 14% of eligible employees chose Bind. And the Bind plan delivered what the company expected—in 2019, 81% of Medtronic members on the Bind plan paid less than $500 out-of-pocket (OOP), with its average OOP less than one-third of the national average for members with employer-sponsored health plans ($324 vs. $943).

Members made choices that fit their needs and budgets – 91% selected the most cost-effective treatment option and 51% had fewer plannable procedures than expected. After adjusting for risk, Medtronic outperformed its estimated cost under traditional plans by 16%.

The benefits team even received an email from an employee thanking them for offering a new health plan that values transparency and flexibility.

With the 2019 success, the benefits team started to investigate how to take it up a notch within the Bind plan structure. On January 1, 2020, Medtronic started offering access to free insulin while expanding the plan to eligible employees across six states. Enrollment jumped to 23%.

If you'd like to find out if Bind is right for your company, click to connect with the innovator.

Virta

Virta Health Appoints Dr. Robert Ratner, Former Chief Scientific and Medical Officer of the American Diabetes Association, as Chief Medical Officer

In April 2020, Virta announced the appointment of Dr. Robert Ratner as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Ratner was formerly the Chief Scientific and Medical Officer of the American Diabetes Association. His appointment highlights Virta’s continued leadership in delivering best-in-class health and economic outcomes for diabetes, and the ongoing emphasis in healthcare to focus on diabetes reversal solutions.

In a discussion on why he joined Virta, Dr. Rather said “Put simply, I have yet to encounter a solution that simultaneously produces life-altering outcomes like Virta’s that also can be scaled to millions of people.”

He also cites another reason—Virta’s care delivery system, called Continuous Remote Care, where patients receive fully-virtual, proactive and continuous medical care along with expert behavioral coaching. This model’s tight coordination between behavioral and medical practitioners plays a critical role in driving high retention and sustained adherence not seen in other approaches.

“Continuous Remote Care is fundamental for transformative patient outcomes and a radically better patient experience. And, in the era of COVID-19, it is a critical means of protecting the health of those living with chronic conditions, both for the virtual delivery and the role it plays in delivering glycemic control, where Virta shines,” said Dr. Ratner.

This model and the future of virtual care will be explored in a 3-day virtual conference beginning September 29th. Hosted by Virta and featuring our nation’s foremost leaders in healthcare, government, and policy, the conference will examine how we go beyond the current capabilities of telemedicine to transform health for payers, providers, and patients.

August 2020

Springbuk

Springbuk has recently updated and enhanced our Advanced Reporting suite to help benefit teams and analysts add an additional layer to support their reporting needs. This suite provides users unrestricted access to their enriched data, providing flexibility, accessibility, and the customization needed to make critical data-driven decisions required by today's enterprise employers. This flexibility is also providing employers enhanced usability for all members of their benefits team.

Easily collect and visualize all your data from disparate sources in a single place.
Quickly build powerful reports to inform Plan Design decisions, monthly reporting, and risk analysis.
With a few simple clicks, build cohorts or focus populations, to easily follow engagement and impact of programs put in place.

Find out more about how Enterprise employers are leveraging the Advanced Reporting suite, along with Springbuk's Health Intelligence engine, to deliver the benefits that will have the most significant impact on your employees' health and your organization's bottom line.

To learn more about Springbuk Health Intelligence, visit our website.

Physera

In the middle of May, Physera and Omada Health joined forces to add digital musculoskeletal (MSK) care and access to a nationwide network of licensed physical therapists (PT) to the Omada portfolio.
The two leaders in digital health combine their capabilities to further drive Omada’s philosophical alignment. Their individual approaches mirror one another as they both focus on building technology to support an accessible, human-led digital care model at scale.

Physera brings its innovative MSK solution which combines technology and PTs for effective and efficient MSK care using only a smartphone. The convenient access to individualized programs includes care, no extra equipment and a dedicated PT who can diagnose and treat nearly all MSK conditions.

Learn more about Physera’s virtual MSK care solution here.

August

July 2020

98point6

The Solution: Unlike traditional telemedicine, 98point6 combines the expertise of world-class physicians with the power of artificial intelligence to put quality, affordable text-based primary care in the palm of your employees’ hands, 24/7, wherever they are. Our physicians diagnose and treat and order prescriptions and labs as appropriate. Patients use 98point6 for everything from chronic condition management, behavioral health, dermatology and episodic care.

Clients: 98point6 partners with employers, health plans and retailers to bring on-demand primary care to their members. Clients include Boeing, Circle K, Chipotle, Red Bull, Sam’s Club, Kindercare, Seattle Children’s and Teamsters.

Patient Satisfaction: 98point6 changes consumers’ relationship with primary care from episodic to continuous. Our care model is patient and quality focused. With technology handling tasks that don’t require a doctor, our physicians dedicate time to thoroughly evaluate the patient and answer questions in detail. Our unique approach also allows for real-time physician collaboration, improving quality. With a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 69, a return-user rate of more than 56% and 90% of patients saying they would use the service again, patient satisfaction exceeds that of traditional telemedicine. Also, with our subscription-based pricing model, frequent visits means better health outcomes and lower downstream care costs for you.

COVID-19: In response to COVID-19, large employers like Boeing, Circle K and Red Bull are offering employees and their dependents on-demand access to our physicians, who can assess patients for COVID-19, order viral and antibody tests, write doctor’s notes and provide mental health support. Several existing clients have also expanded their partnership with 98point6 to offer our service to their non-benefits eligible members.

Maven

We’re continuing to build upon our mission to revolutionize healthcare for women and families by partnering with more leading employers, expanding our telehealth offering, and improving our products. On the heels of our $45 million Series C fundraise, we launched a new partnership with MassHealth to improve health outcomes for the 1.8 million women and families it covers in Massachusetts. We also announced our first acquisition: Bright Parenting, the leading app that helps parents of children ages 2-10 with proven behavioral health techniques, is now part of Maven to help bring our vision of an integrated model of parenting and pediatrics to life.

Since March, we’ve been identifying major gaps in care left by the pandemic, and are driving research and discussion to help redesign the future of healthcare and family benefits based on what we’re learning. As the leading virtual clinic for women and families, we remain focused on filling these gaps in care by improving access to telemedicine appointments, expert-vetted information, and personalized support. To meet rising demand on Maven, including massive spikes in bookings for mental health and pediatrics, our 2,000 doctors and specialists have set 500% more appointment times, around-the-clock. More than 60K individuals have engaged with our free live Q&As with experts, resource center, and FAQs to provide the latest clinical guidance related to pregnancy, fertility, pediatrics, and more. We also introduced a six-month product for employers to provide unlimited access to Maven’s telemedicine network with a fast-track implementation within one week. Through this time of global crisis and beyond, Maven is helping leading companies across industries address their main priorities: lowering overall costs, supporting working parents, providing specialized mental health, and more.

July

June

June 2020

Happify Health

Happify Health Releases Significant Platform Enhancements

to Support Needs During and After the Pandemic

Responding to clients’ and prospective clients’ needs during the global pandemic has been Happify Health’s primary focus. In addition to specially developed content to help individuals manage the stress of these uncertain times, that response has included the release of several new platform enhancements:

Happify for Teens is among the first digital mental health solutions to be designed specifically for ages 13-17 on an enterprise platform. All content has been adapted to be age-appropriate and complies with privacy and safety regulations.
Happify Connect™ makes it easier for employees to access mental health resources. Embedded in the Happify platform, its destigmatized screening tool and clinical algorithms direct employees to the right level of support. Open API allows for integration with any internal or external partner. In April, Happify Health announced its first integration partner, Talkspace.
Anna, Happify’s Digital AI Coach, takes employee engagement to the next level by creating a highly personal experience. Anna is trained by clinicians, data scientists as other experts to model the conversations and interactions a person might have with a coach or therapist.
Happify Heart & Mind is a collaboration with the American Heart Association to deliver a specially designed Happify experience to help people with high blood pressure and/or high cholesterol.
Happify CoreWellness is a collaboration with CaseNetwork to deliver a specially designed set of tracks and activities to address stress and burnout for physicians and health care professionals.

Big Health

We already had a mental health crisis before the pandemic, but since COVID-19 we’ve faced an unprecedented increase in psychological distress. 45% of individuals now report that COVID-19 has had a serious impact on their mental health, and access to care is even more difficult than it already was before.

Community Access: mental health support for free

During this difficult time, we’ve made our evidence-based digital therapeutics available at no cost to all. Our solutions, Daylight, for worry & anxiety, and Sleepio, for poor sleep, are fully automated programs that provide a stigma-free first step into mental healthcare without the need for human contact. Since the shelter-in-place began, we’ve made our solutions available to over 120 employers covering over 5.5 million lives. If you’re interested in free access, please reach out to community@bighealth.com

Digital Therapeutics via your PBM

Billing? Contracting?... (Ugh) While “budgeting” isn’t always the most exciting topic, we’ve heard from customers that it will be an important piece of the puzzle this year as companies work to make new solutions available for employees, while facing increased financial pressure from leadership and tightening budgets. Daylight and Sleepio are now available through your Pharmacy Benefits Manager (PBM), similar to how a drug is billed. With just a two-page amendment (no contract needed), and the ability to add digital therapeutics to your existing pharmacy plan, this is an entirely new way to offer evidence-based digital mental health support.

Health Economic Study: proven, real-world cost savings

We recently released the results of an independent health economic evaluation that demonstrated 28% lower annualized healthcare costs for Sleepio users when compared to matched controls, in a Fortune 500 employer population. Put another way, those that engaged with Sleepio had $1,677 lower healthcare costs per year vs. those that did not. The study included over 1,000 participants, and also measured inpatient medical costs, days in acute admission, prescription (Rx) costs, and emergency room visits. Our press release includes more detail.

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