Every month, MassBio spotlights a member company and the great work they’re doing to advance the life sciences industry and support the patients we serve. In February, we spoke with Sean Haney, Senior Director of Sales for Harvard Pilgrim’s Massachusetts market. Sean has more than 25 years of health insurance industry experience and has spent the last 10 with Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. His prior roles at Harvard Pilgrim include manager of the new business sales team and senior account executive for new business sales.
Tell us about your organization, its mission, and current initiatives.
Harvard Pilgrim is a not-for-profit health services company that provides health benefit plans, programs and services to more than 1 million members who live and work in New England and beyond. Our mission is to improve the quality and value of health care for the people and communities we serve.
We’ve partnered with MassBio to offer high-quality health plans to member companies that qualify as large groups* through Edge Benefits. These offerings are tailored to fit the needs of the biotech populations we serve and feature a higher level of benefits with a focus on delivering value and outstanding service.
Harvard Pilgrim is continuously innovating and improving to better serve our customers. We’re proud of our track record for bringing best-in-class programs and services to market that deliver outstanding value for our clients, many of whom are in the life sciences industry.
*Over 50 full-time equivalent employees
How does your organization’s activities help patients now and into the future?
One of the things that Harvard Pilgrim has in common with life sciences companies is that we work hard to identify and develop innovative approaches to caring for people.
For us, a big part of that involves fostering and facilitating human connections. All Harvard Pilgrim members have access to our clinical care team of registered nurses, wellness coaches, and licensed social and behavioral health workers.
We’ve implemented mobile technology that helps members connect more easily with our nurses and health coaches. Our free care management app includes a two-way messaging feature that members can use to ask their care team questions. And our care team can encourage members to manage their health conditions and keep up to date with health screenings.
By building personal connections and trusted relationships, our team guides members to better health, reduced risk and lower costs.
What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the life sciences industry today?
We have many life sciences clients and hear firsthand about the challenges they have attracting great talent and retaining valuable employees. Massachusetts is home to industry giants, so competition for top-notch workers is fierce — even with the unfortunate rise in unemployment due to the pandemic.
Health insurance is one of the most highly valued employer-sponsored benefits. We work with our life sciences clients on solutions to ensure their health plan offering is supremely attractive. Access to top doctors and hospitals, rich benefits that keep out-of-pocket costs for services low, and digital solutions that enhance the overall health care experience are key when it comes to recruiting and retaining top employees.
Harvard Pilgrim is pleased to partner with MassBio as their carrier of choice for the Edge Benefits program. We offer a health plan with robust medical benefits at a very competitive price point, exclusively for MassBio members.
What’s next for your organization/what are you focused on in the coming year?
Harvard Pilgrim will continue to focus on initiatives that improve the member experience and members’ overall health and well-being.
In the digital solutions space, we recently made the Sanvello mobile app available to our members. This powerful online tool gives users clinical techniques for dialing down the symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression.
Growing families have support through Ovia HealthTM and ProgenyHealth®. Ovia HealthTM is an app-based maternity and family health solution for reproductive health, pregnancy and parenthood. ProgenyHealth® is a program that helps ensure babies born prematurely or with complex medical conditions get the right care in the hospital and come home at the right time to supported, empowered families and caregivers.
Finally, we’ve developed ways to make our members’ outstanding experience with us even better. Harvard Pilgrim’s SmartStart program helps new members — including those with complex care needs — transition to Harvard Pilgrim seamlessly, with no gaps in care or coverage.
If you’re interested in being featured in MassBio’s Member Spotlight, please see guidelines here.