Dallas-based startup Take Command Health announced a partnership with Oscar Health that takes advantage of new regulations going into effect in January. The move allows the two companies to offer employers a new way to provide group benefits through a reimbursement arrangement model.
Take Command Health said with the partnership, an entirely new benefits model will be available in Dallas-Fort Worth.
The new Take Command product combined with Oscar’s individual health plans will also be available in the Denver, Houston, Orlando, and Phoenix markets.
The new regulation that led to the partnership and product is the Individual Coverage HRA (ICHRA), which allows for an alternative to one-size-fits-all group health plans for employers. ICHRA allows business owners of any size reimburse health insurance premiums while allowing employees to choose plans that best fit their needs.
The new regulation also offers the potential for savings. For example, Take Command Health’s ICHRA product paired with one Oscar Health off-exchange Silver level plan is 10 percent to 20 percent less expensive than equivalent on-exchange Silver plans.
“We are thrilled to partner with Oscar to offer a fundamentally new way for employers to provide insurance in the Dallas market,” said Take Command Health CEO, Jack Hooper, in a statement. “This first-ever program, made possible by a new benefits model based on regulatory rules that have never happened before, is going to change the way we talk about benefits from now on.”
The Take Command and Oscar partnership might be sign of things to come in health insurance. Per the Health and Human Services government agency, over the next five to 10 years around 8000,000 employers are expected to offer ICHRAs paying for more than 11 million employees’ insurance.
Business advantages of the ICHRA model include budget control, flexibility, and personalization in the group benefits market.
“When we look across the landscape at the new HRAs, Take Command Health is leading the charge,” said Louis DeStefano, National VP of Sales, Oscar Health. “This approach enables greater consumer choice for employees of companies both large and small—something Oscar greatly believes in.”
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