Chronosphere, a provider of cloud native observability, has signed on with Folx Health giving its 250-plus employees and their dependents access to Folx’s end-to-end virtual primary care, HRT, PrEP, care navigation, content and community.
Nobody likes going to the doctor, but for the LGBTQIA community it’s even more fraught—same-sex parents having to scribble out “Mother” or “Father” and add in a second same-sex parent, others being forced to choose between “Male,” “Female” or “Other,” which is dehumanizing.
Folx Health is run by the LGBTQIA community for the LGBTQIA community and knows that these things matter. Fortunately, many companies are finally starting to realize how important it is to provide proper healthcare to this demographic.
“We were getting so much inbound interest from organizations like Chromosphere who have really invested in providing inclusive benefits, only to recognize that the incumbent system, for all its best efforts, just isn't actually inclusive of this community,” said Folx Health CEO Liana Douillet Guzman in an interview with Fierce Pharma Marketing.
“So, we’re really excited to partner with them to provide this not just to the LGBTQIA members of their team, but also what I like to think of as LGBTQI adjacent—parents whose kids come out and they either have health questions that they want to be able to ask or sort of broader questions that they don't know where to get answers. Then, more broadly, being able to work with them to help just with training and benefits assessment, etc.”
Nearly 50% of all LGBTQIA people are not “out” at work; the fact that people can sign up for Folx anonymously is a big benefit for those not ready to out themselves in an office setting. Folx will obviously know, but the current model has Folx billing anonymously. However, in a few months, Douillet Guzman says the company will run the care through insurance as a fee for service separately from HR.
Folx’s referral system, for example if telehealth isn’t enough, has a ranking of how well the HCPs interact with the community, eliminating the need for “doctor shopping.” A “platinum” level means Folx has directly interacted with or trained the provider.
And it’s not just about forms and feeling welcomed; there are important factors in treating this community. It’s about understanding how gender affirming hormone therapy may intersect with other health issues such as breast cancer or diabetes.
As always, offering proper inclusive care is not just about “doing the right thing”—there is a huge benefit to business.
“It ensures that you have a healthier, more productive, more loyal workforce. That just helps the bottom line. The reality from a cost perspective—if you’re doctor shopping, that's twice that your insurance is paying for those visits. It's just less expensive no matter which way you cut it to be able to get people to the care that they need more quickly,” Douillet Guzman said.