Tribal Employers Taking Control of their Healthcare

Sponsored Content by Face Rock Enterprises

When it comes to rising healthcare costs, no employer is immune, but Tribal employers have distinct advantages over private employers that often go unrealized today.

Face Rock has recently partnered with Sky Advanced Solutions, founded in 2020, which is a consulting and contract pharmacy organization specifically focused on Tribal employers.

SAS (Sky Advanced Solutions) has developed an integrated healthcare model that delivers Tribal employers significant savings off of their current healthcare spend while improving patient experience and outcomes. The model consists of an onsite health center and pharmacy complete with a team-based, patient-focused concierge model that not only can fund itself, but can deliver additional savings and generate new revenues that Tribes can use to repurpose towards other areas of need.

Tribal employers with large W-2 populations are challenged in several areas. Whether it’s patient access, navigation of care, or managing those with chronic conditions to achieve better outcomes, the SAS model delivers a personalized primary care approach that is truly transformative. The patient’s CARE team includes an onsite physician, patient advocate and pharmacist who work together to understand a patient’s unique needs, and collaborate with outside specialists and one another to deliver an unmatched primary care experience.

Another major challenge that employers are facing is the rising healthcare costs of their plans, particularly in the Rx area, which can now account for as much as half of an employer’s overall health spend, largely due to the emergence of specialty drugs. With over 150 specialty drugs pending FDA approval, this trend shows no signs of slowing down. SAS’s pharmacy solution not only unlocks federal discounts for the Native and non-Native W-2 population, but also ensures that Tribes are receiving the largest discounted drug cost available by continually purchasing inventory at the better of 340B or Prime Vendor pricing. Net savings of 45 percent or more are expected for prescriptions filled through SAS’s onsite pharmacy, which may include mail-order.

The onsite health center provides savings in many ways, including redirected primary care and lab services, along with proactive disease management that reduces wastage and promotes ongoing adherence. Being onsite, the health center is also ideal for pre-employment testing and to help manage and deliver on all COVID-19 protocols.

Karen Knight, a Partner at Face Rock, stated, “while many Tribes, particularly smaller ones with large W-2 employee populations, are interested in pursuing independent healthcare expansion, they often lack the expertise, resources and funding to realize those ambitions.” Face Rock is a key part of the SAS solution that helps Tribes formulate and execute a plan to maximize their ROI by connecting all of the dots while accessing the funding to support those efforts. According to Ms. Knight, “Tribes can typically qualify for up to $600,000 of annual recurring funding to help offset independent health expansion efforts without compromising any existing IHS funding.”

Face Rock also helps Tribes benefit from newly created recurring billing revenue that is part of the SAS integrated solution, which can help them fund other areas of need, like behavioral health or substance abuse programs.

To learn more about how Sky Advanced Solutions can help you, please contact Karen Knight at Face Rock at kknight@facerockllc.com or visit www.skyadvancedsolutions.com.

Tyler Moore 6 Articles