It has been quite an exciting year here at Castlight (now a part of apree health!).

Back in January, we announced our combination with Vera Whole Health, a leading advanced primary care provider. In September, we shared that our two companies would officially unite under one company name and brand—apree health—with Donald Trigg at the helm as CEO.

And just last week, healthcare reporter John Tozzi wrote a feature about one of our key initiatives in Bloomberg Businessweek.

Read the piece: JPMorgan Is Still Trying to Fix Healthcare.

5 Key Takeaways

Here are a few key takeaways from Tozzi’s Bloomberg piece: 

• Employers are spending astronomical amounts on healthcare each year—and employees are paying a lot for care as well. It’s not sustainable for either party.
  
• About 25% of U.S. healthcare spend is “wasted” due to issues like fraud, administrative obstacles, overcharging, and patients receiving unnecessary care.
  
• Morgan Health by JPMorgan Chase & Co. is trying to transform employer-sponsored healthcare by partnering with groups such as Central Ohio Primary Care (COPC) and Vera Whole Health to provide advanced primary care to JPMorgan’s employees and families in Columbus, Ohio (the firm’s second largest location).
  
• There are now five Vera Whole Health clinics in the Columbus area. These clinics are “full-service practices where employees can develop long-term relationships with primary care providers, wellness coaches, mental health providers, and care coordinators.”
  
• The incentive structure of this model is nontraditional. Rather than being rewarded for volume of appointments, tests, and procedures—which is the current norm—providers will be rewarded for measurable outcomes. 

In the piece, Tozzi also shares the story of JPMorgan employee Subodh Keskar, who visited a Vera Whole Health clinic and had such a positive, meaningful experience that he said, “I told my doctor, I’m your permanent patient. Anything happens, I’m coming here.” 

Read more about Keskar’s experience as a Vera Whole Health patient. 

Empowered by the Richest Data and Powerful Technology

Tozzi’s article is a great example of the role apree health is playing in transforming U.S. healthcare. In addition to this key initiative, apree health is integrating data and technology with primary care in a way that’s never been done in employer-sponsored healthcare before.

Our advanced primary care model will be supported by innovative and sophisticated digital navigation technology. Powered by Castlight, this navigation technology harnesses almost 15 years’ worth of data—more than one billion data points from claims, biometrics, health risk assessments, and more.

Our solution provides a more personalized experience and increases individuals’ engagement in not just their healthcare, but other benefits programs as well—a game changer for health outcomes, healthcare spend, and employee retention. It also equips care teams and specialists with access to detailed data and insights, ensuring they have a comprehensive understanding of their patients’ health histories and current needs—ultimately enabling individuals to receive the right care, at the right time, and at the lowest cost. 

A Roadmap to Fixing U.S. Healthcare

Transforming U.S. healthcare won’t be easy—far from it—but we couldn’t be more excited to be playing such a large role. Our work in Columbus is just the start on a challenging but worthy journey to improving the lives of hundreds of thousands of employees (and their families).