Maven Founder and CEO Kate Ryder spoke with Yahoo! Finance’s Melody Hahm about the future of digital health and how Maven is revolutionizing healthcare for women and families. In the interview, Ryder emphasizes how Maven acts to complement and build upon individuals’ in-person care through on-demand telemedicine.

“It’s an amazing time in the market because about five years ago when we started, the conversations being had weren’t the ones we’re having today,” explains Ryder.

They spoke live from the 2019 Forbes Women Summit in NYC in June, where Kate Ryder was featured on a panel of leading women in STEM sharing keys to unlocking innovation.

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In June, the Northeast Business Group on Health (NEBGH) gathered HR and benefits leaders from companies across the Northeast, along with healthcare providers and experts driving innovative solutions like Maven, in NYC for its annual conference. We discussed some of the complex topics top-of-mind for benefits teams like mental health, concierge services, AI, and addressing high-cost conditions.  

Maven women’s health nurse practitioner and advisor Rebecca Callahan was part of a panel on Healthcare Disparities Despite Coverage and, as a platinum sponsor of the conference, Maven had a table in the exhibit area. The panel—moderated by Claire Levitt, deputy commissioner for the New York City Mayor’s Office of Labor Relations—explored benefits teams’ key concerns around how to address disparities that exist in accessing care and managing certain conditions, despite best efforts to treat diverse workforces equally when it comes to benefits coverage. Rebecca Callahan discussed how Maven helps employers close these gaps by improving access to quality, equitable care for all employees. She was joined by other panelists Karan Singh, the co-founder and chief operations officer at Ginger, and Luther T. Clark, MD and Deputy Chief Patient Officer at Merck.

Here are a few additional key takeaways we wanted to share from NEBGH this year:

• Time is the biggest barrier for employees in seeking quality healthcare. With this in mind, employees embrace benefits solutions that bring care to them, like virtual care or in-office and at-home services.
• Employers are leading the way in adopting innovative healthcare solutions. More companies are embracing forward-thinking health and wellness partners like Maven, and are working with health plans to deliver better care solutions for employees.
• Retention remains a key priority for employers when considering benefits. In an increasingly competitive job market, employee retention continues to be a challenge for companies. Holistic, high-quality benefits solutions with no out-of-pocket costs for employees are key to driving employee satisfaction and retention—and avoiding high turnover costs.

“More companies are embracing forward-thinking health and wellness partners like Maven, and working with health plans to deliver better care solutions for employees.”

Until next year’s NEBGH annual conference, we hope more employers continue to embrace inclusive, holistic, and innovative healthcare solutions for their employees. Maven is here to help.

Stay Tuned for More on Our Upcoming Events

• CAHR Conference—August 25-28 in Long Beach, CA
• NGBH Workforce Strategy 2019—September 17-19 in San Diego, CA

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Generations of new parents have learned the hard way that a baby who wakes up every couple of hours, crying to be held or fed, makes it impossible to get sufficient sleep at night. In a recent article, The Chicago Tribune reveals why more and more companies are now paying for sleep consultants to help their employees get some much-needed rest, and specifically how Maven and Assurance are helping companies address this issue.

Sleep consultants work with parents to develop concrete, step-by-step plans to address their specific sleep-related challenges, create better sleep environments for babies, and answer questions like when to put babies to bed and how long to wait before responding to their crying. Their services can be pricey, with many charging between $400 and $500 for a package that includes a consultation, personal plan, and several weeks of support.

“That’s why Assurance not only recommends that its clients offer Maven to their employees, but offers Maven to its own employees, as well. Not surprisingly, Micklow has found that when employees are well-rested, they are able to work with more efficiency, accuracy, patience, and enthusiasm.”

But the investment pays off for employers: data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that when employees don’t get enough rest, the drop in their productivity can cost employers as much as $1,967 per employee, per year. Many employees report that their babies begin sleeping through the night after just a few weeks of working with a sleep consultant, allowing them to return to work refreshed and energized.

According to Jill Micklow, the wellness manager for Assurance Agency, a Schaumburg-based insurance brokerage, offering sleep consultants is “part of a broader trend of employers increasingly trying to support working moms.” In particular, benefits that help ease the transition back to work after having a baby are in high demand. Such benefits include—in addition to sleep consultants—back-to-work coaches, lactation consultants, and mental healthcare. Maven’s network provides convenient, digital access to all of these types of specialists, and more. That’s why Assurance not only recommends that its clients offer Maven to their employees, but offers Maven to its own employees, as well. Not surprisingly, Micklow has found that when employees are well-rested, they are able to work with more efficiency, accuracy, patience, and enthusiasm.

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