PYMNTS features Empara in detailed interview on the future of healthcare tech

PYMNTS, a leading business media outlet specializing in payments and commerce, recently invited Empara president Markus Waite on their new interview series focused on innovative platform businesses. 

Markus and PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster explored what it’s going to take for healthcare benefits to match the seamless customer experiences consumers are now accustomed to — and how Empara is empowering that transition. 

Below is an excerpt from the article. See the full video here. 

Innovation plays a role in making healthcare experiences more intuitive, accessible, personalized and affordable. 

But navigating the forest of today’s healthcare innovations and services can be just as complicated as picking one’s way through the care delivery journey itself. 

“The market is flooded with point solutions, and none are really integrated,” Markus Waite, president of Empara, told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster for the PYMNTS Matchmakers Series. 

“That’s why having a single solution that encompasses all benefits, not just medical or pharmacy but even vision and dental, too, is key,” Waite said. 

“Benefits are still very complicated, and folks don’t have a lot of time to understand or navigate them,” he added, explaining that he still finds himself looking up the difference between co-insurance and deductible at times. 

The frictions and complexities endemic to the contemporary healthcare landscape make it challenging for both individuals and administrators alike to navigate the world of benefits, even those with years of experience. 

“There are so many things that we have as part of a benefit plan that unless you study your summary plan design every weekend, you’re not going to remember those things,” said Waite. 

That’s why there is a need for single, simple platforms that simplify benefits, enable self-service and provide easy access to resources when needed. 

“There are a lot of different parties in the value chain,” Waite added. 

Addressing all of them holistically is key to scaling. 

Continue reading at PYMNTS.com.