- Key insight: Discover how cycle-based fertility plans shift employer benefit design from dollar caps to treatment rounds.
- Expert quote: Carrot CEO Tammy Sun says customizable, transparent plans let more employers offer fertility benefits.
- Supporting data: 65% of employees would change jobs for access to fertility benefits.
- Source: Bullets generated by AI with editorial review
Fertility treatments can be
To give its customers
"Employers want more flexibility in how their benefits are designed," says Carrot CEO and founder Tammy Sun. "A [customizable] plan design for high-quality fertility and family-building treatments [allows] many more types of employers to come into the space and offer what we now understand is a core part of the healthcare program at work."
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A popular retention tool
Fertility assistance is expensive — one round of IVF alone can cost tens of thousands of dollars. But it's also a popular way to attract and retain talent: A survey by Carrot found that 65% of employees would change jobs for access to fertility benefits, and nearly three quarters would stay with a company longer if these offerings were available.
Each employee's path to family building is unique, and their benefits should reflect that reality. As such, Carrot has always prioritized flexibility and transparency, Sun says, and its new plan design is no exception. From medical care to vendor and service fees, decision makers can see a breakdown of exactly where each of their benefit dollars is going. No matter what plan direction employers choose, members will have access to digital care navigation, provider matching and 24/7 support.
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"[Customers] want more value out of the plan designs," says Sun. "What that means is they want every dollar that they put into that cycle-based plan design to do more work. Our new feature allows our customers to understand the cost of treatment, where every dollar is being invested, and the clinical value and business ROI that is being produced."
As healthcare costs continue to rise, and with over half of those under 65 covered under their employer's healthcare benefits, a vendor's ability to meet the individual needs of its customers is the best way to reach the most employees and dependents, Sun explains.
"The employer is very much on the front lines of healthcare delivery, value and innovation in this country, so allowing them to make better decisions and customize products, services and value for their specific organization, is really what will help us unlock access to people," she says.
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Establishing long-term relationships
When vendor partners build trust through aligned incentives, flexibility and transparency that enables benefit leaders to meet the needs of their organization, everybody wins, says Sun.
"We want to build long-term relationships with customers, and we want to build business models and products that can earn [their] trust, and that's why transparency is so important," she says. "We want to be very clear about how we're delivering value, the value that they're getting, and where their money is going."
Sun encourages benefit leaders to be bold in asking for this approach from more of their benefit partners in order to balance the best offerings with their budget needs.
"They are in the driver's seat," she says. "It is fully within their rights to inspect, evaluate and ensure that the dollars they want to invest in these critical programs, including fertility and family care, are generating the highest value possible."
