Judi Health is launching a new Part D plan that aims to lean on its tech stack to drive transparency and outcomes.
The Judi Rx Retire plan will be made available as an employer group waiver plan, or EGWP, which is sponsored by employers and offered to Medicare-eligible employees or retirees. Retire aims to bring Judi's focus on transparency and financial alignment to a group that's often in its own silo.
Jason Barretto, senior vice president of government programs at Judi Health, said that the company would hear from clients that they wanted more unity in managing their employee and retiree benefits, but until now they could not access that functionality with Judi.
This would either force them to manage their retirees through a separate vendor, or pass on working with Judi entirely.
"The reason why we're entering the market is because the market's asking for it," Barretto said. "It's just a nice synergy for our employer clients."
By signing on with Judi, employers that offer an EGWP will access a unified data system for claims, network management, prior authorization and reporting, rather than needing to stitch together a technology platform for these services, the company said in an announcement.
And, as Judi owns the plan contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, prospective clients would not need to divide compliance, enrollment and claims across multiple vendors.
Barretto said that employers frequently lack the bandwidth to manage multiple vendors, so Judi's approach aims to simplify their experience.
In addition, transparency is a challenge for employers across their health and pharmacy benefits, and they often lack a complete look into their benefit spend. Judi said in the announcement that legacy EGWP's tend to lean on complex rebate and pricing structures that are opaque to most employers.
"They have no line of sight to what they're paying for," Barretto said. "So they really like the idea of working directly with us and getting rid of the opaqueness in their current arrangements."
Judi's platform includes real-time alerts and analytics that can identify fraud, waste and abuse, and support compliance. Customers can also connect to Judi's customer support line around the clock, with most calls taking under 30 seconds to connect.
Barretto added that the team sees a significant opportunity to build on the foundation of the Retire plan, including the potential for a Medicare Advantage prescription drug (MAPD) plan. But he said the team, for now, is putting a focus on making the Retire experience the best it can be.
"I'm laser focused on bringing this to market in a meaningful way," he said. "It's really exciting to bring all these things together and have both our employer clients that are with us, as well as prospective clients, come to us and experience this."