Oscar, a new start-up health insurance company, may be changing the way that New Yorkers navigate health insurance exchanges in just a few weeks, according to an article in Forbes.
The company, founded by Josh Kushner, Kevin Nazemi and Mario Schlosser, seeks to use technology and telemedicine to improve healthcare transparency and reduce unnecessary admissions, expanding the role of the insurer to overlap with that of a provider.
The company will feature at least one health plan in each insurance tier. Plans will operate like traditional insurance options but will also feature components such as free telemedicine, free generic drugs and price comparisons for pharmaceuticals and procedures.
Oscar's website will feature treatment options for some common conditions and 24/7 access to a physician through TeleDoc, a telemedicine company, according to the report.
Other features of the new plan include online prescription refills, on-site services at New York CVS locations, phone access to physicians within 20 minutes of a request and incentive-based information gathering that pays customers to answer questions about how to better serve them.
The company will be open for business with the launch of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act insurance exchange markets Oct. 1.
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