AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sana, a health care company that provides health benefits to small businesses at affordable prices, today announced its expansion into Virginia.
Sana is serving a traditionally underserved market in Virginia. In addition to the lack of health insurance options for small businesses found throughout the country, Virginia also suffers from low availability of primary-care and mental-health providers. The United Health Foundation’s 2021 report ranked Virginia’s ratio of individuals to primary-care providers as 36th among the 50 states, and its ratio of individuals to mental-health providers as 38th. Sana’s inclusion of $0 virtual appointments with primary-care and mental-health providers in most plans will help Virginians facing those issues.
“Sana entered three new states in 2021, and plans to keep expanding in 2022,” said Sana co-founder and CEO Will Young. “We’re on a mission to make health care understandable, accessible and affordable to as many Americans as possible. Virginia has over a million small business employees, and we’re excited to offer them a better alternative to the same restrictive networks and sky-high ‘negotiated rates’ that have dominated the market for decades.”
Sana’s availability in Virginia means that small and midsize businesses can now get health plans that are purpose-built to meet their specific needs. Anthem Group and Cigna possess 72% of the state’s PPO market share, according to a 2021 report by the American Medical Association. Sana offers an alternative to those and other legacy insurers.
The large, legacy insurers in Virginia may serve as an adequate option for enterprises with thousands of employees, but they’ve failed to provide smaller businesses with the support their modest or nonexistent human resources teams require. Additionally, those employers have not been given access to value-based health care models proven to make employees healthier at lower costs.
"Getting high quality, affordable health coverage is one of the most difficult jobs HR professionals face, especially at smaller employers,” said Joan Reutter, sponsorships chair of the Prince William, Virginia chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management. “We're excited for Sana to help our members solve that problem. We've seen Sana's work with SHRM chapters in other states and know they'll be a great partner."
Only payroll surpasses health benefits as companies’ largest expense category. Small businesses pay anywhere from 8% to 18% more than a large company for an identical health insurance policy, according to a 2018 National Conference of State Legislatures report. Worse, 40% of small businesses reported that they’ve increased the prices of goods and services due to rising health care costs, according to a 2021 survey by Small Business for America’s Future, a nonprofit organization comprising business owners and leaders based in Washington, D.C.
When Sana enters a market, 35% of its new customers are small businesses that were previously unable to provide health care to employees, largely due to high costs. Launching in Virginia adds more than a million employees who can benefit from Sana’s health plans.
“Sana has been incredible for our business,” said Jason Martin, the owner of Roost Austin, a vacation rental company. “Everything from the value of the plans, to the ease of use, to the customer support has been amazing.”
Those looking for small business health insurance in Virginia can utilize Sana to save money and attract and retain top talent in a competitive labor market. Sana’s customers often save up to 20% compared to legacy insurer pricing and most receive flat rate renewals.
Starting today, Virginia-based companies can offer their employees health benefits packages with full medical, dental, vision and more without network restrictions or hidden fees. Sana is known for affordable employer health plans, $0 virtual doctors’ appointments, low co-pays and 95% customer-service satisfaction. In addition to primary care, Sana gives employees access to virtual care with providers specializing in pediatrics, maternity and mental health.
About Sana
Austin-headquartered Sana provides small businesses with dependable health plans at prices they can afford. Through value-based care, the Sana Care ecosystem of world-class providers, direct primary care and more, Sana is reducing the cost of high-quality care. Sana is making it easier than ever to administer benefits for employers and offers simplified health plans and top-notch customer service to employees. Sana provides healthcare to small businesses that drives down costs while simultaneously delivering an exceptional quality of care. For more information, visit www.sanabenefits.com.
