Carrum Health, a company with value-based Centers of Excellence for employers, is teaming up with Included Health, a virtual care and health navigation company working with employers and plans.
Carrum’s Centers of Excellence network for specialty care will be embedded directly into Included Health’s Alternative Health Plan to help connect members to high-quality specialty care with more predictable costs. The partners will connect plan design, navigation and value-based care into one coordinated experience.
As employers face steep healthcare cost increases, specialty care often drives a lot of healthcare spending. From 2023 to 2025, the U.S. saw the highest three-year stretch of healthcare cost growth in over a decade, according to the Business Group on Health. The Carrum integration will deliver greater cost predictability with bundled rates, outcomes accountability and streamlined contracting.
Carrum offers employers and their members access to top-quality treatment centers nationwide with significant cost savings over traditional insurance—and zero out-of-pocket costs for employees.
“By working with Carrum Health and bringing their value-based specialty care into our alternative plan offering, we can help members reach high-quality care sooner, with clear guidance and clear costs,” Ami Parekh, M.D., Included Health’s chief health officer, said in a press release. “Together, we’re giving employers a more practical way to manage high-cost needs while improving the experience for people who are already going through a lot."
In January, Included launched an alternative health plan design for employers, broadening its existing all-in-one virtual care platform. And in July, it announced it would acquire Firefly Health to scale health plan alternatives for employers.
The pending acquisition will bring together Included Health’s AI-native virtual care platform with Firefly’s clinically integrated health plan, which integrates primary care with a nationwide near- and in-home care and specialty network. The combination creates a scaled health plan alternative that is designed to deliver long-term savings for employers by connecting employees to better care through a modern experience with predictable costs, according to company executives.
The Carrum-Included collaboration targets treatments that typically see high variability, like surgeries, cancer care and substance use disorder treatment. Included can identify complex specialty care needs through primary care visits, navigation touchpoints, app insights and claims data. Included can then refer patients to Carrum, and after their treatment, Carrum can transition them back to Included for ongoing support.
"If you look at any employer’s claims data, the same pattern shows up: specialty care drives the highest costs, the most variable outcomes and the moments when employees most need guidance and least often get it," Matthew Eurey, Carrum’s chief commercial officer, said in an announcement. "Our embedded partnership with Included Health offers employers one comprehensive solution to manage primary and specialty care from day one. That means fewer members navigating a surgery, cancer diagnosis, or substance use disorder on their own and fewer employers dealing with an array of benefits solutions."
Carrum says it benefits employers by encouraging employee adoption of reliable specialty care with predictable episode costs and reduced readmissions. Over the past 11 years, Carrum developed a service that enables employers to purchase healthcare services and specialist medical care directly from top providers for a bundled price. Utilizing a Centers of Excellence network, an all-inclusive pricing model, and a 30-day warranty on surgery and two years on cancer care, Carrum members receive surgical and cancer treatment guidance and coordination throughout the entire care journey with upfront pricing, according to the company.
Included Health works with health plans and employers, offering benefits and insurance navigation, as well as virtual primary care, behavioral health, specialty care and urgent care appointments.