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NEWS & UPDATES July 2020 • Issue 3
Featured Topics Innovation Hub Partnerships
The Innovation Hub’s partnerships with CB Insights (a market
intelligence platform of tech startups across industries including
Innovation Hub Partnerships insurance and digital health) and Rock Health (a venture fund
dedicated to digital health) gives SBA direct access to early-stage
companies and opportunities to shape evolving solutions. We
Wellness Program leverage these partnerships along with our own resources to identify
Incentives FAQs and evaluate innovative health vendors and emerging trends from
operational, clinical and financial perspectives. With the help of these
partnerships, we develop innovative solutions that are practical,
Update on the Financial viable, and poised for success, to meet the needs of our clients.
Impact of COVID-19
Here are some examples of how we utilize these partnerships:
COVID Return to Workplace –
Screening and Testing Employees
CB INSIGHTS HIGHLIGHTS ROCK HEALTH HIGHLIGHTS
⊲ Incorporate CB Insights’ ⊲ Co-host webinars on
SBA/Rock Health Webinar
Mosaic score into our emerging employee health
on Behavioral Health evaluation of companies. benefits topics (e.g., benefits
CB Insights defines Mosaic for diversity and inclusion,
as “a quantitative framework empathetic approaches to
to measure the overall behavioral health)
health and growth potential ⊲ Gain insight from the Digital
of private companies using Health Consumer Adoption
non-traditional signals” (such survey to inform our advice
as a FICO score) to clients
⊲ Create custom reports and ⊲ Represent the employer
presentations on select perspective to investors
companies or market and leaders of digital health
segments (e.g., telemedicine, companies to help shape
behavioral health, women’s their solutions
health, etc.)
⊲ Utilize company profiles, data and analysis of funding and
earnings reports to evaluate digital health companies
⊲ Interpret research and reports on insurance and the digital
health industries to plan for employer impact
BENEFITS TO EMPLOYERS
⊲ Curated, vetted digital health solutions to address challenges
in navigating employee health and well-being
⊲ Expedited vendor selection process
⊲ Short and long-term strategies based on our interpretation
of market trends
⊲ Timely information and insight shared through Innovation Hub
newsletters and webinars
NEWS & UPDATES July 2020 • Issue 3
Wellness Program the American Dental Association (ADA), 84% of dental
practices reported that patient volumes had decreased
Incentives FAQs by more than 95% compared with the same period in
2019.2 (See Figure 1)
With the COVID-19 pandemic, developing a contingency
FIGURE 1: Dentists’ Response to “How Does this Week
plan for wellness program incentives can help support the
Compare to What is Typical in Your Practice in Terms of
health and well-being of employees during these uncertain Patient Volume and Volume of Total Collections?”
times. Whether an incentive program requires completion
of biometrics and labs, physician visits, or completion of Total Patient Volume
certain activities/outcomes, click here for some FAQs to
consider in developing a plan. 84.3% 7.8%
Volume of Total Collections
Update on the Financial 68.5% 15.6% 7.5%
Impact of COVID-19 Less than 5% 5-10% 11-24% 25-50% 51-75% 76% or more
Over the past months, SBA has been developing our Source: ADA Health Policy Institute Economic Impact of COVID-19 on
COVID-19 Projection Model to develop estimates on the Dental Practices survey, week of April 6.
impact of COVID on medical and dental plan costs. As we
continue to track utilization and cost data, we have made
five key revisions on assumptions used in the model: 5. Medical Office Openings. Hospitals, as well as doctor
and dentist offices are reopening, but at limited
1. Lower Prevalence. The prevalence of COVID-19 among capacity. It is unclear whether the backlog of deferred
workers is lower than originally projected due COVID care will be cleared out entirely in 2020, will extend into
disproportionally impacting those with multiple chronic the early part of 2021, or will not be done at all.
conditions, the elderly, as well as individuals living in
group housing situations (nursing homes, prisons, etc.) As claims continue to come in, employers should look
2. Telemedicine Usage. While use of telemedicine closely at both COVID and non-COVID costs and be
has skyrocketed, it has not completely replaced the sure they are able to track claims either from claims
traditional physician office visits even though face-to- administrators or from data warehouses. Tracking COVID
face visits remain more expensive. treatment utilization and costs as well as the amount
of deferred care will be crucial. There may be potential
3. Deferred Care. The decrease in the utilization and “overbilling” and/or “overuse” of telemedicine, so be on the
costs due to deferred care for non-COVID-19 patients is lookout for these anomalies. Finally, given the stress of these
much greater than originally estimated. Non-emergent times, employers should analyze trends in behavioral health
and deferred/elective care, such as routine office visits, utilization (both virtually and face- to- face) as well as in the
elective surgeries, and recommended screenings are use of anti-depressant, anti-anxiety and similar medications.
being increasingly postponed. According to the CDC,
visits to the Emergency Department were down by The SBA Actuarial Team has updated its earlier COVID-19
42%1 compared to 2019. impact model to reflect these findings and will continue
4. Dental Claims. Dental claims have decreased even to update the model as more data become available. The
more than medical claims as dentist offices closed for SBA Analytic Team is available to consult with employers
all services other than emergency care. According to on COVID claims analytics.
1 Hartnett KP, Kite-Powell A, DeVies J, et al. Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Emergency Department Visits — United States,
January 1, 2019–May 30, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub: 3 June 2020. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6923e1
2 Nasseh, K, Vujicic, M. Modeling the Impact of COVID-19 on U.S. Dental Spending. American Dental Association Health Policy Institute.
April 2020. https://www.ada.org/~/media/ADA/Science%20and%20Research/HPI/Files/HPIbrief_0420_1.pdf?la=en
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NEWS & UPDATES July 2020 • Issue 3
COVID Return to Workplace –
Screening and Testing Employees
As states continue their phased-in re-opening of businesses, more employers are faced with the challenge of both
complying with local authority guidance and implementing protocols to safely return their employees to the workplace. In
response, we have seen an explosion of screening and testing vendor solutions ranging from digital symptom checker apps
to onsite thermo scanners and virus/antibody testing services. Below are a few considerations in evaluating these services.
EMPLOYER SCREENING & TESTING SERVICES
DESCRIPTION CONSIDERATIONS
Symptom ⊲ Employees self-report symptoms daily ⊲ Features and costs vary widely
Checkers via digital app and receive badge ⊲ Vendors are inexperienced
with OK to return to workplace and/or ⊲ Able to implement for large number
guidance on care and follow-up of employees
Temperature ⊲ Hand-held device or kiosk administered ⊲ Not all infected will have a fever
Checks by employer staff or third-party service ⊲ Most require basic user training
(Thermo Scanners) ⊲ Scans temperature without skin contact ⊲ Cost per device varies widely
Virus Testing ⊲ Tests if person is currently infected ⊲ Results aren’t valid for long; may test negative
(PCR) ⊲ Nasal/oral swab performed at test or one day and positive the next
worksite ⊲ Accuracy varies – make sure to use FDA
approved tests
Immunity/ ⊲ Tests for presence of virus antibodies ⊲ Hard to interpret test results
Antibody ⊲ Serologic/blood test at lab, test or ⊲ Immunity level and duration of immunity are
Testing worksite TBD
Contact Tracing ⊲ Identification of persons who may have ⊲ Primarily offered to public by health
had contact with an infected person departments
⊲ Collection of information based on these ⊲ Limited availability and cost of private services
contacts for employers
SBA maintains a COVID-19 Screening & Testing Vendor Inventory of organizations that
provide symptom checker apps, onsite temperature checks and testing. Please contact
your SBA consultant for more information.
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NEWS & UPDATES July 2020 • Issue 3
QUESTIONS TO ASK VENDORS ABOUT
SYMPTOM CHECKER APPS:
SBA/Rock Health Webinar
⊲ How do you support employers to develop a on Behavioral Health
screening strategy?
The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the need to
⊲ What experience does your company have with
address behavioral health as it impacts our go-forward
digital solutions?
business strategies. Strategic Benefit Advisors’ Innovation
⊲ What is the implementation process and how long Hub has partnered with Rock Health to conduct the
does it take? second webinar in our innovation series, “Accelerating
⊲ What types of customization are available? Innovative Behavioral Health Strategies and Solutions.”
The webinar featured Dr. Joel Axler, Behavioral
⊲ How extensive are the screening triage questions and Health Leader at SBA/B&B, who addressed myths and
how does the checker triage users to the appropriate misunderstandings of mental health issues, two employers
level/site of care/provider? presenting behavioral health strategy case studies, and
⊲ What reporting and analytics capabilities are available? a market overview of emerging innovative solutions and
⊲ How is data privacy ensured? trends from Megan Zweig, COO of Rock Health.
Click here to see the full replay of this webinar.
FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL GUIDANCE
The CDC offers guidance for screening and testing, but
decisions about testing are made by state and local health
departments or healthcare providers and employers. For
example, some states require daily screening of employees
and essential visitors. Guidance from public health
authorities is likely to evolve, so it’s important for employers
to continue to follow the most current information on
maintaining workplace safety.
Click here for a state by state list of screening and
temperature check laws and executive orders.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
To find out more about the SBA
Innovation Hub, contact Mimi Tun
at Mimi.Tun@strategicba.com.
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