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Walmart Employees To Get Expanded Cancer Treatment Options With The Mayo Clinic
NEW YORK — Walmart employees and their dependents are eligible for enhanced cancer treatment from doctors at the Mayo Clinic through the retailer’s insurance.
The nation’s largest private employer announced on Wednesday that anyone insured by insurance and diagnosed with most types of cancer will be allowed to get a second opinion from the Mayo facility and, if necessary, fly to the facility for treatment.
Walmart Employees To Get Expanded Cancer Treatment Options With The Mayo Clinic
According to benefits experts, the retail giant’s action comes as more businesses seek improved care alternatives, with a focus on cancer treatments.
Walmart’s cancer program assisted the Mayo Clinic employees and their families with breast, lung, colon, prostate, pancreatic, and blood cancers. It is now broadening its scope to include most other malignancies.
The business stated that the only exclusions are three skin cancers: basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and localized melanoma, which can be treated at a local doctor’s office.
Mayo Clinic, situated in Rochester, Minnesota, with sites in Arizona and Jacksonville, Florida, has expanded its collaboration with corporations other than Walmart, including Whirlpool and 3M. Dr. Lyell Jones, a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic, stated that it has a sophisticated care program that spans 10 million patients.
As healthcare expenses rise, employers have been more focused on linking employees with quality care.
Companies have long sent patients to so-called “centres of excellence,” according to benefits experts. The drive began with bariatric surgery. It later expanded to include spine procedures and hip or knee replacements.
According to Maura Cawley, a senior partner at consulting firm Mercer, cancer care is likely the most recent example of this strategy.
Walmart Employees To Get Expanded Cancer Treatment Options With The Mayo Clinic
According to Cawley, these centres also allow them to provide greater assistance to persons living in remote areas.
Employers in general are also putting more emphasis on cancer care planning. Aside from linking people to good care, firms are doing more to promote early identification and flexibility with patient work and treatment schedules, according to Cawley.
SOURCE | AP
