By Mike Tulumello
If you’re passionate about health care and would like to make $19 an hour, plus full benefits, there’s
a new option in town for you.
Oscar Health, a technology-driven health insurer, has just started recruiting for its concierge team at the firm’s new Tempe offices.
According to Paul Gazeley, vice president for customer care for the New York-based company, the firm chose Tempe because the community
—and the surrounding area—has large health and tech sectors.
The site near University and Loop 101, just east of ASU, is ideal because it is a central Valley location with freeway access, said Gazeley, who lives in Gilbert.
Oscar is planning to hire at least 150 people immediately and hundreds more in the future, he said.
“The whole economy in the surrounding area will benefit,” Gazeley said.
Oscar is unique in that “We’re both a health insurer and a tech start-up,” Gazeley said. “We’re sort of simultaneously using data, technology and design to make health care easier for our members.
“Most insurers just want to sign you up and never get involved until you get the bill from the doctor.
“The health care system is really sort of a black box. It’s hard to understand, expensive.”
Oscar is trying to improve how the system works for its approximately 100,000 members through its concierge team, he said.
Thus, team affiliates are “involved every step of the way,” from helping members find the best doctors to helping them understand their benefits, why they’re paying bills and what those bills are covering, he said.
“The goal is really to build relationships and trust with our members, to reach to us as the first point of contact for all their health care needs.
“When members call, the concierge team knows their names; they’ve built that relationship, so it’s not just a traditional model.”
The technology Oscar has developed also helps the ensure process, he said.
“Every time a member reaches out, whether it’s by phone, email, secure messages, online or the mobile apps we have, they’ll be connected with their own concierge team,” Gazeley said.
“And that team handles the common customer service questions such as understanding their benefits, checking on their claims, but it also connects the members with the appropriate care needed.”
For example, for a patient who calls in with a chronic condition, concierge-team members can be proactive and help develop a treatment plan, he said.
They can even periodically check to make sure the patient is adhering to the plan and answer any questions they may have.
Or, if a member makes contact to ask about a prescription, the staff members are trained to ask about conditions that might be associated with the prescription, ask if they have a regular primary care doctor and related issues, he said.
“The concierge model is truly great. From the moment members sign up, a designated concierge team guides them through every step of the way through their care.”
Ads seeking to hire people say experience in the health care industry is a plus but not required.
A bachelor’s degree or three years of relevant experience is also preferred, with a three-week training program spelling out additional job-specific details.
“The employees we have are passionate about health care and about what they do,” Gazeley said.
“And it shows. They have a true passion for the member on every single call.”
Information: www.hioscar.com/jobs
