Digital health platform to introduce family-building benefits programme

The US digital health platform Ovia Health is to introduce its first fertility and family-building benefits programme in an effort to better support employees.

The new offerings would allow employers and health plans to design plan benefits and assistance packages based on their specific goals and budgets.

The solution is hoped to extend Ovia’s approach to support family journeys, including through assisted reproductive technologies (ART), adoption and surrogacy, and will be available to members of all demographics and family types, including those of same-sex couples and individuals.

“Compared to existing fertility point solutions that approach fertility health as a single point in time, we designed our fertility and family-building benefit to offer employers and health plans a customisable solution to help engage and support their employees and health plan members during their entire family-building journey – from preconception and pregnancy to postpartum and beyond,” said Dr Leslie Saltzman, Ovia’s chief medical officer.

More companies than ever are providing benefits that cover procedures such as IVF, egg freezing and surrogacy.

According to a 2023 report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development, around half (49 per cent) of employers surveyed provide some kind of support for employees pursuing fertility treatment.

Ovia’s fertility benefits programme would include a financial tool allowing employers to contribute funds designated for eligible family-building services, support for members to identify and navigate fertility clinics, providers and surrogacy and adoption agencies and one-on-one support and clinical guidance from the company’s in-house care team.

Dr Jenny Carrillo, president of Ovia, said: “As individuals and families increasingly pursue fertility, adoption and surrogacy to build their families, many feel isolated or unequipped to navigate these processes themselves.

“We believe our new fertility and family-building benefit is a key step toward improving health equity, providing greater access and support for families on their family-building journeys.”

The Ovia fertility and family-building benefit programme is set to launch in January next year.