Fertility care at a crossroads: Maven’s approach to safer, smarter support

Fertility care is at a tipping point. Advancements in research and technology are making treatments more effective, and the number of people pursuing fertility treatments is steadily increasing over the years. 

However, the fertility care industry in the U.S. is largely unregulated, with minimal government oversight compared to the rest of American health care. This lack of regulation can put patients at risk, with potential issues arising around the quality of care, transparency of information, and handling of sensitive medical procedures. In recent years, some of the consequences have been avoidable intrusive procedures, lost or mishandled embryos and more.

Increased demand for fertility support coupled with a lack of regulation has created a challenging landscape for both families and benefits leaders to navigate , 

“Right now, there is a dearth of evidence-based resources,” says Dr. Brian Levine, Founding Partner and Practice Director of CCRM New York. “Many solutions on the market are giving people too much care or not enough—usually too much on the medical side and less on the support and guidance side.”

What best-in-class fertility support looks like

Maven employs a unique business model that prioritizes access to the shortest pathway to a healthy baby over utilization of services. We ensure members get the right care from the highest quality clinics by setting high standards for our clinically-vetted care model (including NCQA accreditation), rigorous provider vetting and credentialing, and continuous risk assessment and personalized care planning for members.

Despite limited regulation, fertility care is a cornerstone of healthcare, and employers recognize the importance of offering fertility support to their employees. Discerning the good from the bad when it comes to fertility benefits vendors means examining how each vendor addresses the clinical, emotional, and financial needs of employees.

“Excellent fertility care starts with providing reliable, accessible information for the individual,” says Dr. Wael Salem, Medical Director of NDFC Scottsdale. “It should help to dispel misconceptions about how long getting pregnant should or shouldn't take. It should also help contextualize tests that people might be taking on their own, and offer simple ways to improve the likelihood of getting pregnant, including adjustments to diet and exercise. And finally, if necessary, it should help people determine when they need to seek help through a fertility clinic.”

According to Dr. Salem, the fact that so few of his patients seem to have access to proactive preconception and fertility services speaks to the misaligned incentives between patients, providers, and benefits vendors.

“When your only options are to go to a clinic, it gives this warped idea of what fertility is about,” says Dr. Salem. “When you have more personal support that helps you make the right decisions for your wellbeing, that helps everybody—the patient, the provider in the clinic, and the employer ultimately responsible for cost of care.”

How Maven drives high clinical standards in our Fertility & Family Building program

Since Maven’s founding in 2014, we’ve been relentlessly focused on closing gaps in care for women and families. We operate the highest level of clinical excellence, guided by our Scientific Advisory Board, and our clinically-vetted care model is proven to drive improved outcomes for those seeking fertility care. In a largely unregulated industry, we hold ourselves to the high standards of care and achieve accreditation from leading regulatory agencies like the NCQA. 

Maven’s fertility care model meets the diverse needs of employees

We complement and extend in-person fertility care with a combination of 24/7 access to support, the most diverse and technically specialized care team in the industry, and rigorously designed care programs. To deliver this experience at scale, Maven uses a three-part care model:

Assess: Risk in fertility treatment is highly dynamic and can escalate quickly. Maven is easily accessible through our app and on desktop, and serves as a continuous point of access during joyful moments as well as vulnerable ones. We deeply and frequently assess members’ medical and social risks, preferences, and knowledge gaps through ongoing in-app data collection and targeted expert provider assessments.

Address: Maven compliments in-person care by ensuring members get the right care at the right time. Members have 24/7 access to virtual specialists throughout their journey with less than an hour wait times, as well as tailored referrals to in-person care, including an extensively vetted network of the highest-quality fertility clinics.

Impact: Our expertly designed, member-centered programs drive behavior change and better outcomes. Based on member data collected, our care team creates a personalized care plan that can be adjusted with their Care Advocate depending on their health risks and preferences. 

Maven’s NCQA certification ensures adherence to the highest standards of care

The U.S. lacks a centralized agency to oversee healthcare quality, making independent accreditation essential. The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) serves this role, ensuring high standards across the industry. After a rigorous review process, Maven achieved NCQA Health Equity accreditation, the first digital health company to earn this accreditation— further demonstrating our commitment to providing top-quality, equitable care for its members.

With this accreditation, Maven clients and their employees can be confident that the care they receive aligns with the highest benchmarks in healthcare. This accreditation also reinforces our dedication to fostering diverse, equitable, and inclusive environments, ensuring that all members receive personalized support regardless of race, language, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

Maven is not incentivized to drive fertility treatments

Unlike other fertility benefits providers, we have no incentive to drive members towards treatment and we uniquely support people in preconception and in the early phases of considering fertility treatment. As a result, 30% of our Fertility members achieve pregnancy without needing assisted reproductive technology like IVF.

Maven also supports members pursuing alternative pathways to parenthood, by providing deep, personalized, wraparound support for adoption and surrogacy journeys. This includes referrals to high-quality clinics and agencies and telehealth appointments with providers specializing in their journey.

Maven’s care delivery platform is designed to proactively manage care and deliver results at scale

Maven’s integrated care delivery platform connects members to virtual practitioners. All of Maven's virtual practitioners are background checked and enrolled in ongoing monitoring, and our medical practitioners are vetted via an NCQA accredited credentialing program.

When members join Maven, they receive a proposed care plan through our data-driven care engine. Members can collaboratively refine their care plan with their dedicated advocates to best reflect their goals and preferences. These plans offer preventive support, proactive education & monitoring, and individualized recommendations.

Maven provides continuous care unmatched by point solutions

Maven’s innovative model is built around member pathways and gaps in care. Maven provides personalized support through a member’s fertility journey and a seamless transition to a maternity program that will not only give members continuity of care, but it will also drive better outcomes.

Other fertility support vendors claim to have pregnancy support. However, the level of support they provide is limited and ad-hoc, and not a robust maternity care management program with the depth of care employees need.

The ROI from Maven’s Fertility & Family Building program

Maven’s methodology for calculating ROI on our Fertility and Maternity programs has been validated by Milliman. Our maternity and fertility programs focus on a specific set of clinical outcomes, which typically yield a clinical ROI of up to 2x with an overall business and clinical ROI of up to 4-6x. For fertility and family building, we measure the following outcomes:

Clinical savings: 

• Improved natural pregnancy rate: 30% of fertility members achieve pregnancy without ART
• Reduction in multiples: 97% singleton pregnancy rate (IVF)
• Fewer cycles needed to achieve pregnancy: 2.0 average cycles to pregnancy

Business savings: 

• Reduced attrition: 96% of members are more loyal to employers because they implemented Maven
• Productivity savings: 83% of members reported being more productive at work during fertility treatment from having Maven’s support

Partnering with Maven to provide best-in-class fertility care

In a largely unregulated industry where some companies prioritize profits over people, finding the right partner for your company’s fertility benefits is paramount. As the only digital health company who has achieved NCQA Health Equity accreditation, Maven is uniquely capable of driving the best outcomes for your employees as they seek fertility treatments—and even helping some avoid them entirely. Want to learn more? Explore the difference between Maven and other benefits providers.