Women account for half of consumers, control 80% of household financial decisions and make 70% of their family’s health care decisions, but their access to quality health care is often lacking.
Especially in the post-Roe world, women are increasingly turning to their employers for good health care benefits for themselves and their families. Maven Clinic, a virtual women’s and family clinic, enables companies to offer their employees an extensive online network of fertility, pregnancy, adoption, parenting and pediatrics services.
“With our platform, patients can access all these different types of caregivers – adoption coach, surrogacy coach, OBGYN, midwife, doula – they can get quick support in 10, 20 minutes and talk to people they trust who share their lived experiences,” Kate Ryder said. , CEO and founder of Maven Clinic, told TBEN reporter Leslie Picker at the TBEN Work Summit on Wednesday. “Our healthcare advocates help them navigate the benefits or the laws and ask if their health plans have done anything to add them to this new and changed landscape.”
Ryder’s goal for Maven is to put women first when it comes to their health care and to fill any gaps. It is the largest virtual platform for services for women and families.
“Women’s health and family health have always been underexposed,” Ryder said.
Since Ryder founded Maven Clinic in 2014, the company has raised more than $200 million and was valued at $1 billion following its most recent funding round in August 2021, making it the first women-focused health startup to reach this milestone. The services have helped support more than 15 million members in more than 175 countries, and the platform supports more than 30 provider specialties in 30 provider languages. Maven Clinic was ranked number 19 on the TBEN Disruptor 50 list for 2022.
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, the company has seen a 67% increase in the opportunities of companies seeking travel benefits and other health care support for pregnant women.
Ryder said Maven Clinic anticipated the cancellation of Roe v. Wade after SB-8 in Texas in 2021, which banned virtually all abortions and health care related to abortions after six weeks.
“Because we’re in the market, because we had a platform that we had access to, we were able to jump up and take our products a step further,” Ryder said.
Maven Clinic has experienced a broader increase in demand for its products over the past two years amid a pandemic and a tight labor market, which she attributed to the accessibility of the virtual platform and strong support for health equity.
Amid the major layoff, more companies are adding fertility benefits to their list of benefits to stay competitive as part of diversity, equality and inclusion efforts. Services such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment are offered by 42% of large employers in the US and 27% of small employers as of 2020, and 19% of large employers and 11% of small employers offered egg freezing at.
Additionally, 80% of people say they look at a company’s DEI efforts when considering an employer, and 40% of people would be willing to change jobs if they feel their employer is not prioritizing reproductive rights, Ryder said.
“All the major medical associations have come out … and say this is a health care access problem, a health care problem,” Ryder said. “It’s also exactly what you need to do – make sure that your families, at a time when they are very vulnerable, have the right access and support.”
The Covid-19 pandemic is also disproportionately impacting communities of lower economic status and people of color, making it more difficult to find quality care.
In the wake of the pandemic, there has also been an exodus of female workers, as well as female leaders who have left their companies and changed jobs at one of the highest rates in years. The number of women currently employed in the workforce is comparable to the number seen in the 1980s, reversing decades of progress.
“If you’re a company trying to increase your profits, it’s about the people,” Ryder said. “It’s about health equity and how, for example, if you have a large virtual healthcare platform, it’s easier to actually address this because you have the opportunity to have a healthcare provider.”
