Included
Health,
a
navigation
and
virtual
care
company,
is
launching
into
the
insurance
space
with
its
alternative
plan
design
for
employers,
the
company
announced
last
week.
The
San
Francisco-based
company
provides
virtual
and
in-person
care,
navigation
and
care
coordination
and
24/7
support
for
clinical
and
administrative
needs.
The
new
alternative
plan
design
offers
a
“copay-first
plan,”
meaning
patients
know
what
care
is
going
to
cost
upfront.
The
plan
is
centered
around
primary
care.
It
starts
with
a
well-being
consult,
which
is
an
extended
primary
care
appointment
that
allows
members
to
ask
questions,
understand
their
benefits
and
form
a
relationship
with
the
provider.
“It’s
really
centered
on
that
clinician-patient
relationship,”
said
Dr.
Ami
Parekh,
chief
health
officer
at
Included
Health,
in
an
interview.
“We
want
it
to
be
trusted.
We
want
it
to
be
done
early
in
the
year,
so
that
every
single
person
has
a
care
plan.
They
know
what
they
can
expect
over
the
course
of
their
year.”
In
addition,
patients
receive
24/7
support
through
Included
Health’s
AI
assistant
named
Dot,
which
can
provide
answers
to
questions
and
hand
off
patients
to
human
support
if
needed.
Patients
can
be
connected
to
virtual
and
in-person
options
nationwide
for
a
variety
of
needs,
ranging
from
common
care
to
complex
care.
The
payment
model
for
the
alternative
plan
design
can
be
tailored
to
the
employer,
whether
that’s
a
per-member-per-month
fee
or
a
value-based
model,
according
to
Parekh.
Included
Health’s
plan
can
also
be
offered
as
an
option
alongside
another
traditional
health
plan.
The
company
has
already
launched
its
health
plan
with
one
employer,
which
the
company
declined
to
name.
About
20,000
employees
of
this
employer
are
enrolled
in
Included
Health’s
plan,
Parekh
said.
In
addition,
early
results
show
members
often
use
the
full
30-45
minutes
of
the
well-being
consults.
Included
Health
decided
to
launch
the
alternative
plan
design
due
to
a
need
they
were
hearing
from
employers.
“Both
members
and
employers
are
in
a
world
that’s
a
little
bit
stuck,”
Parekh
said.
“They
have
PPO
products
that
are
quite
expensive,
usually
have
a
lot
of
services
in
them,
but
are
hard
to
navigate.
Then
they
have
quite
restrictive
HMO
products,
and
they
actually
are
often
both
more
affordable
and
easier
to
navigate,
but
you
give
up
all
your
choice
to
be
able
to
have
that.
…
There
has
been,
I
would
say,
over
the
last
two
years,
a
desire
by
employers
to
have
something
that
is
ideally
the
best
of
both
worlds,
that
gives
members
choice,
but
is
easier
to
navigate.”
In
fact,
a
recent
survey
from
the
Business
Group
on
Health
found
that
17%
of
employers
have
adopted
an
alternative
health
plan,
while
7%
are
adding
it
in
2026
and
36%
are
considering
it
in
the
near
future.
Several
other
companies
also
offer
this,
including
Centivo
and
Imagine360.
What
sets
Included
Health
apart
is
the
size
of
its
clinical
team,
according
to
Parekh.
The
company
has
1,000
clinicians,
including
in
primary
care,
behavioral
health
and
urgent
care.
To
track
the
success
of
the
alternative
plan
design
over
time,
the
company
will
measure
engagement,
patient
adherence
to
their
care
plan
and
clinical
outcomes,
Parekh
added.
Photo:
Feodora
Chiosea,
Getty
Images