How employers are adding virtual cancer care to their benefits plans

Large employers’ benefits packages often include medical and dental coverage, a 401(k) match and increasingly, virtual cancer care. 

As the disease hits more working-age people and companies see their costs rise, virtual cancer care is growing as a covered medical benefit in employer-sponsored plans.

Read more: Employers skeptical of virtual health, GLP-1s: survey

Cancer diagnoses for people under age 50 have jumped 80% in the last three decades, according to a study published in BMJ Oncology in September. The cost of treating the disease is also on the rise, which has increased employers' costs. In a Business Group on Health survey of large employers in August, cancer was picked as the top disease driving cost for employers for the second year in a row. Forty one percent of employers are anticipating more late-stage cancers in their population due to delayed screenings.

To offset the increased diagnoses and related costs, employers are investing in solutions to help people get diagnosed earlier, better navigate the complexities of cancer care and connect with leading cancer care centers. Fifty three percent of employers are planning to offer a cancer-focused center of excellence approach in their benefit plans in 2024, according to the business group's survey.

Digital health executives and investors in cancer-focused tech companies say they've seen a shift in employer thinking. 

“Two and a half years ago, almost no employer was saying, ‘We need a cancer-specific solution,’” said Adam Pelligrini, CEO and co-founder of cancer navigation company Jasper Health. “Now it’s table stakes.” 

Cancer treatment is one of the top cost drivers among 7-Eleven's 75,000 employees. In the past two years, the company has added two benefit solutions focused on cancer care. 

“The progressive employers are looking at innovations that are disruptive and not paralyzed by the decades-old paradigms of healthcare,” said Mike Adams, head of benefits. “They’re looking at what’s the best care for their employees and how to deliver it in the most efficient manner.”  

7-Eleven has contracted with digital health company Employer Direct Healthcare to use its Cancer Care Direct platform, which helps patients understand treatment options, connects them with various providers and offers virtual consultations. The convenience store chain also uses a specialty drug management platform from Vivio Health to match employees with the right oncology drugs. Since the drugs are costly and not always covered by insurance, the platform can determine the cost effectiveness of a medication, Adams said.

The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to employers’ changing mindset, as delayed diagnoses of cancer have brought the issue to the forefront, said Sach Jain, CEO of cancer-focused digital health company Carrum Health. 

“Employers are coming out from that mindset of ‘Sorry we can't do much about it’…to now they’re exploring options,” Jain said. 

How US Foods looks at cancer care

US Foods, a foodservice distributor with 28,000 employees, has invested in a cancer care platform from Carrum Health that help employees better understand their conditions and treatment options and navigate available benefits and resources. 

Carrum Health also works with AccessHope, a cancer support services company spun out of cancer treatment and research center City of Hope that connects employees to National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers.

These kinds of arrangements help increase access for cancer patients who live far away from these cancer centers, said AccessHope CEO Mark Stadler. The company works with employers because they’re spending billions of dollars in healthcare and looking for better outcomes for that spending, he said. 

“Employees are seeking more and more guidance from their employer through their employer-sponsored healthcare plan,” Stadler said. 

But savvy employers understand it’s not enough to adopt a solution and expect employees to use it. Adams said 7-Eleven communicates its benefits to employees in a variety of ways—including through texts— so they'll use them. 7-Eleven has had enough success that it will tack on more cancer-focused solutions in the future, Adams said. 

Investors have taken notice of the rising interest among employers in cancer-focused solutions. In August, Steve Jobs’ son Reed started a $200 million venture capital fund called Yosemite that will invest exclusively in cancer-focused digital health and biotech companies. Cancer survivor Ben Freeberg, who previously worked at growth equity firm Alpha Partners, launched his own cancer-focused venture fund, Oncology Ventures, in May with financial support from Duarte, California-based nonprofit City of Hope. 

Freeberg said employers aren’t just looking to reduce costs and improve outcomes. They also want to give employees peace of mind.

“[A lot of employers] are saying, ‘Even if we could just help reduce the sick days people have to take in order to get testing done, most of which is unfortunately unnecessary,' or 'just give them a support to understand their risk,’" Freeberg said. “There’s some of that lighter, emotional touch to keep employees happy and in the office.” 

But though employers are looking to address cancer, they remain hesitant to adopt solutions focused on one singular disease. Employers don't want to adopt narrowly focused technologies because adding too many can run up costs. For instance, Gabbi, a company that offers risk assessment tools for breast cancer, is having a hard time getting past initial conversations with employers, said CEO and founder Kaitlin Christine. 

Freeberg said point solution fatigue is a very real concern among employer and one reason why he is building a portfolio of companies that sell cancer care solutions to a variety of buyers. 

“You can’t have 10 different health tech vendors, never mind 10 different cancer tech vendors,” Freeberg said.