Healthcare
We got an exclusive look at the presentation a Stanford grad is using to make the case for a new kind of healthcare company focused on the LGBTQ community
subscribers.
Become an Insider
and start reading now.
Have an account? .
- We got a look at the pitch deck of Included Health, a startup aimed at better supporting the healthcare needs of company’s LGBTQ employees.
- Included Health CEO Colin Quinn, who is gay, founded the company after personal experiences having a hard time finding healthcare providers with whom he had a good relationship.
- The startup is in its early days, and is using the pitch deck in conversations with employers and investors.
- For more stories like this, sign up here for our healthcare newsletter Dispensed.
Colin Quinn knows what it’s like to have a hard time getting healthcare.
Quinn is the founder and CEO of Included Health, a startup aimed at better supporting the healthcare needs of companies’ LGBTQ employees.
Before starting Included Health in 2019, Quinn worked at the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, and later as an executive of home care company Hometeam. He has an undergraduate degree from Butler University and got his MBA at Stanford University.
subscribers.
Become an Insider
and start reading now.
Have an account? .
Even working at companies focused on healthcare, Quinn, who is gay, had moments when he’s been denied care or had trouble finding a healthcare provider he felt comfortable with.
To combat those problems, Included Health is building a directory of LGBTQ-friendly healthcare professionals, as well as providing services to help employees navigate the healthcare system when it comes to gender-affirming procedures and other kinds of care needs.
Employers are starting to offer benefits that are more focused on specific subsets of their employees, such as parents and people who are trying to get pregnant.
Plus, employment protections for LGBTQ individuals were recently strengthened by the Supreme Court, just days after the Department of Health and Human Services finalized a rule that loosened some health protections for transgender Americans and others.
The company is in its early days, and is currently being incubated through the Employer Health Innovation Roundable’s early adopter program.
“Being able to provide access to services with Included Health has helped countless employees, as well as their families, find services and providers that are right for them,” Kathy Jones, State Farm’s Pride employee resource group leader said in a statement provided to Business Insider.
Quinn shared with Business Insider the pitch deck he uses to lay out Included Health for employers and investors. Quinn omitted some slides with financial information from the deck.
Quinn’s the CEO of Included Health, a startup aimed at connecting employees to better LGBTQ healthcare services.
Included Health
Quinn said that the second slide in his deck is meant to lay out exactly what Included Health is: “A better healthcare solution for your LGBTQ+ employees.” Quinn’s personally faced discrimination in healthcare, which prompted him to think through a focused solution for the LGBTQ+ community.
Included Health
Then, Quinn explains why he built Included Health. It’s largely because a substantial amount of the LGBTQ+ community has had a bad experience with healthcare, leading people to put off care when it’s needed.
Included Health
Quinn’s figures come from a survey Included Health is conducting, as well as past research conducted on discrimination the LGBTQ+ community while seeking medical care and subsequent avoidance. So far, Quinn said, about 40% of the more than 1,500 people who have taken Included’ survey so far have reported a negative experience, and the survey is ongoing.
Included’s service is offered through employers as a health benefit to their LGBTQ+ employees. There are both intangible (the “soft ROI,” or return on investment) and tangible benefits (the “hard ROI”) to a more tailored health benefit, Quinn said. Over time he’ll be looking to see how Included Health is contributing to those tangible benefits including having a healthier workforce and reduction in healthcare costs.
Included Health
On slide 5, Quinn gets into how Included Health goes about creating a better healthcare platform for LGBTQ+ employees. That includes building out a network of vetted healthcare providers who are LGBTQ+ friendly, care navigation services, particularly for employees who might be transitioning, as well as advocate and education programs. For now, all of the services are offered by Included Health employees like care coordinators and social workers. Quinn said the plan will be to build out an app where employees can go and find resources.
Included Health
The next slide gives examples of how that might work, including having Included Health staff work through insurance benefits for transgender care or fertility benefits.
Included Health
Included Health’s aim is to connect people with providers within 48 hours of submitting a request, Quinn said.
Included Health
Included Health is in its early days as a company, and is currently being incubated as part of the Employer Health Innovation Roundtable. Its services went live in April with State Farm, and the company already has more than 1,500 vetted medical providers in its directory.
Included Health
Quinn said he added this slide in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic to show employers and investors how Included is shifting its focus to help employees navigate surgery cancellations, and finding LGBTQ-friendly telemedicine providers. The biggest request Included’s gotten in the wake of the pandemic has been for mental health support.
Included Health
Quinn then shares feedback from some users.
Included Health
Quinn also shares early data from Included Health’s survey building on the figures cited early in the presentation. To be sure, the survey is still ongoing, drawing from about 1,800 responses from EHIR member companies.
Included Health
Quinn also includes what the survey takers are looking for out of a platform like Included Health, including having someone to talk to who isn’t their manager at the company.
Included Health
Quinn then lays out what the Included team is working on building, including a searchable directory of LGBTQ-friendly medical provider directory.
Included Health
Included Health is rolling out its platform to two more companies in June and also plans to launch a social media campaign in June timed to Pride month.
Included Health
The presentation wraps up with a simple “thank you.”
Included Health