What should a global workforce look for in a virtual maternity and fertility benefit?
Most vendors described as global are multi-state rather than multi-country. The distinction is worth establishing in the first meeting.
Medically reviewed by Sina Haeri, MD, MHSA, maternal-fetal medicine physician.
Establish first whether the vendor means multi-country or multi-state, because most mean the second. Then look at how care is actually delivered in each country, since clinical licensure does not cross borders. A benefit that works globally is usually a US clinical service plus local partners, and the quality of the local half is the thing to inspect.
Global usually means something narrower than it sounds
A vendor may operate a single benefit administration layer worldwide while delivering clinical care in one country. That can still be the right answer, but it should be stated plainly rather than discovered during implementation.
Clinical licensure does not travel
A physician licensed in the United States cannot treat an employee sitting in another country on the strength of that licence. Cross-border delivery runs through local clinicians, local partners, or a care-navigation model that connects the employee to care where they are.
Language and local pathways decide utilization
A benefit an employee cannot use in their own language, or that assumes a care pathway their country does not have, will show low utilization that gets misread as low need.
Decide what has to be consistent and what does not
Most global employers want consistent eligibility, consistent reporting and consistent employee experience, while accepting that the clinical delivery differs by country. Naming that split early makes vendor comparison much faster.
What to establish early
- In which countries can you deliver clinical care, as opposed to administer a benefit?
- Who provides care in each country, and how are they selected?
- Which languages are supported, and by whom?
- Is reporting consistent across countries?
Where Ouma fits
Ouma is a United States physician practice licensed to practice in all 50 states, which makes it a strong fit for a US-based workforce however distributed. For employees outside the United States, that is a conversation about what can honestly be covered.
Related: Maternity benefits for employers · Reproductive services · How the Ouma platform works
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