The news follows a similar collaboration with Empathy, where FINEOS focuses on offering support to life insurance beneficiaries navigating the grieving process after the loss of a loved one.
According to reports, the partnership with Osara will enable the integration of additional services for cancer patients and caregivers, extending support to insurance carriers utilising the FINEOS Platform across group, voluntary, individual, and absence categories.
Osara Health’s Cancer Coach initiative, rooted in a recent Australian study, has showcased a remarkable ability to improve overall return-to-work rates by 73% and reduce the average time to return to work by 16.5 weeks. The initiative, founded by oncologists, plans to replicate this study in the US market in the coming months.
The programme has demonstrated notable benefits for patients, including pain relief, fatigue reduction, improvements in emotional well-being, mental health, and overall quality of life. Participation is seamlessly conducted digitally, tailored to individual needs based on physician diagnosis codes linked to cancer/critical illness coverage. Additionally, the recently introduced Cancer Caregivers program provides vital services to caregivers, enabling them to sustain employment and maintain productivity.
As US insurers seek to address the cost challenges in one of the nation’s most expensive medical claims areas and provide crucial support to patients and their families, FINEOS and Osara Health envision that their integration will boost programme utilisation rates for voluntary critical illness products and supplemental insurance, such as short-term disability (STD).
Leveraging the automation capabilities of FINEOS Claims, the integration into process flows aims to reduce the delay between diagnosis and receiving support by 3 months. This reduction not only helps individuals with cancer achieve better health outcomes but also mitigates unnecessary financial stress by enabling an earlier return to work.
The programme will be available as part of insurers’ product bundles and directly from employers where appropriate, offering a comprehensive and streamlined approach to supporting individuals dealing with cancer and their caregivers.
“I can tell any number of stories about people who didn’t realise they had certain supplemental insurance coverages when they needed it. Our alliance with Osara Health will make sure that doesn’t happen, providing this support for someone with a cancer diagnosis right away,” said Chuck Johnston, FINEOS Chief Marketing Officer. “This fits squarely within our FINEOS purpose to help our customers care for the people they serve using superior insurance technology.”
Tim Atkins, COO and co-founder of Osara Health, said that the partnership signifies the collaboration between two experts in their fields coming together to facilitate the shared goal of faster care access for members at time of claim.
“We are experts in providing virtual care and eliciting behavior change in the cancer field. This partnership and integration will ultimately deliver a better experience for individuals dealing with cancer and their caregivers,” he said. “At Osara Health, we recognise that patients who actively engage in their health care tend to achieve superior outcomes. Consequently, we endeavoured to develop a solution that empowers individuals to proactively participate in their care journey. With the growth of our insurer customer base, we also acknowledged the need to address the challenge of promptly enrolling eligible members in programmes while simultaneously streamlining the administrative process.”
He added: “Many of our insurer partners have conveyed that integrations like this one will contribute to a more streamlined administrative experience for their claims teams.”
Author: Joanna England
Source: Businesswire
