It's been just over a year since Oura announced a partnership with Medicare Advantage insurer Essence Healthcare, and, now, the partners are looking to continue building on that foundation.
The partnership initially launched for Essence's PPO plan members, and, over the course of the year, grew into HMO plans as well. Saria Saccocio, M.D., chief medical officer for Essence, told Fierce Healthcare that a third of members who were eligible for an Oura ring chose to sign up, and two-thirds of that group was willing to share biometric data with the insurer.
She said the effort began with sleep health and, over time, has shown members are improving their sleep scores. That's translating to other areas as well, such as an increase in the amount of time engaging in light exercise.
"It's that level of awareness and nudge that I think is helping improve the overall health of our members," Saccocio said.
Through the partnership with Essence, the Oura team is able to dive deep into new features and options, said Dorothy Kilroy, chief commercial officer for Oura. For example, they're developing a new hypertension feature and working alongside Essence to pilot that further.
Kilroy said having an early adopter like Essence is critical as the company seeks to make a greater stamp in healthcare and continues to expand the reach of easier access to the devices. Oura Rings range in price from about $350 to $500, which can put them out of reach for many.
She said health plans signing on and easing some of those affordability barriers can make a huge dent in access. The company also recently announced a partnership with Cigna that echoes the work it's currently doing with Essence.
"As we think about expanding, the adoption into the into the Essence and broader Lumeris network, we see, first of all, just the expansion across their entire their entire network being a much bigger population that we can reach," she said. "But I think we've also advanced, since we've started working with them, a lot of our features around cardiometabolic health."
The data available through the ring are valuable to the plan, but they also hold promise for the providers treating members that have joined the program, said Saccocio. Getting those data in the hands of doctors and other front-line clinicians is a critical step.
She said 77% of the members who use the rings check in through the app at least five days a week, so they're highly engaged with their own health data. Essence formed a physician advisory council earlier this year that worked to identify how to best make that information available to clinicians.
Saccocio said the data have potential on an individual level, as they offer a deeper look into a patient's individual habits, sleep quality and other biometrics. However, they could also be a powerful tool for managing population health needs, she said.
For example, she said the insurer has seen a recent increase in osteoporotic fractures. Identifying osteoporosis sooner is part of the equation, but figuring out what factors may be contributing to worsening health—such as sleep apnea—can help avert risks like falls.
The sleep data available through Oura can signal to a doctor that a patient may be developing sleep apnea and would make it easier to close that care gap, she said.
"If I can have a simple, easy way to identify the population at risk, outreach to them specifically, I've now personalized that care," Saccocio said.
Kilroy said the team at Oura is also making investments in artificial intelligence and other technology to make the platform itself more proactive. As it collects a wealth of data on the patient, algorithms can flag risks and reach out to the patient about them.
She likened it to a small town doctor who has the time and ability to know everyone in the region. Oura is aiming to bring that feeling to its members.
"I don't think that's actually that far away," she said. "I think it's within our grasp."