Both employers and employees often experience healthcare in a fragmented way.

For employers, healthcare costs are continually rising, making it challenging to provide comprehensive health benefits while keeping expenses manageable. For employees, understanding the details of their health insurance plans — coverage limits, deductibles, co-pays, out-of-network charges, etc. — can be equally difficult. In fact, a 2020 survey from Accenture indicated that approximately two-thirds of employees are not using benefits due to program design and awareness.

As a result, a new initiative called Vistia Health aims to build a more coordinated and effective healthcare experience for both employers and employees.

Launched in March 2023, Vistia Health — which is offered through AmeriHealth Administrators, a subsidiary of the Independence Health Group — works with a member’s health insurance to provide concierge-type service and care management programs that cut through the complexities of healthcare to change how employers and employees interact with healthcare.

“We always want to keep our members at the center of everything we do,” said David Stefanski, Director of Vistia Health. “So, it was important to us that — through this new entity — we offer them an extra level of support. There’s a huge desire from large employers to provide these services to their employees as part of their health benefits.”

Through compassionate, personalized navigation, Vistia Health is committed to individualized care that integrates medical, behavioral health, pharmacy, and other solutions.

When a company chooses to implement Vistia Health, its employees will have a unique number on the back of their insurance card and have access to a customer service representative who is trained extensively on the benefits and culture of that company. The representative basically functions as an extension of that company’s HR team. Also, members have access to a registered nurse who will have their healthcare information available on a dashboard to support them as best as possible when navigating a new diagnosis or treating an ongoing condition.

“Not everyone has a friend who is a doctor or nurse that they can just pick up the phone and call for advice,” said Stefanski. “Now, they do through Vistia Health.”

It’s an approach that’s tailored to meet the unique needs and perspectives of each individual member, which leads to increased satisfaction with their healthcare experience.

As well as lower costs for the employer.

“Our clients rely on us to provide new and innovative ways to increase employee engagement while delivering measurable health improvements and cost savings,” said Mike Sullivan, President of Diversified Markets for Independence Health Group. “Vistia Health meets all of those needs with one simple program that helps make the healthcare journey more efficient, personalized, and simple.”

Since its launch, Vistia Health has enabled employers to reduce their healthcare costs while providing a valuable resource for their employees.

“Ninety-seven percent of Vistia Health members report being very satisfied with their experience, so for employers, it’s a great retention and recruiting tool,” said Stefanski. “And the benefits of the program reverberate beyond healthcare: By keeping employees healthy, Vistia Health is reducing absenteeism and increasing productivity.”

Learn more about how Vistia Health is working with employers to change the healthcare narrative for good.