Oscar Health, Inc. Announces New Class of Culturally Competent Care Grantees to Help Underserved Communities
Oscar Health, Inc. (“Oscar”) (NYSE: OSCR), the first health insurance company built on a full stack technology platform, today announced this year’s grantees for its Culturally Competent Care Grant Program. This is the second year of the program, with Oscar awarding $150,000 to organizations across the U.S. that are working to increase care access for underserved communities.
Oscar defines culturally competent care as providing care to patients with diverse values, beliefs and behaviors, including tailoring delivery to meet patients’ social, cultural, and linguistic needs. Far too often, it is the lack of culturally competent care options across the U.S. that lead to negative health outcomes for underserved communities.
“We are very thrilled to acknowledge this year’s Culturally Competent Care Program recipients for the incredible work they’re doing,” said Co-Founder and CEO, Mario Schlosser. “At Oscar, we share their commitment to making healthcare both affordable and accessible to all, especially to those in underserved communities.”
Oscar received applications from dozens of organizations serving communities across the country. After careful consideration, three organizations were selected to each receive a $50,000 Culturally Competent Care Grant in 2022:
Bexa Equity Alliance: Based in Los Angeles, CA, BEA's mission is to provide an effective breast cancer early detection solution designed specifically for underserved and overlooked women in every community. By providing both breast exams with Bexa and POC ultrasound from community-based locations like churches, the BEA is engaging women who have never before participated in early detection. The BEA provides a solution effective in younger women, which is particularly critical for African American women who should begin early detection at age 35. Light of the World Clinic: Based in Broward County, FL, Light of the World Clinic is a volunteer-based medical clinic providing access to free holistic healthcare and medical treatment services, to underserved and uninsured communities of color in Broward. Women's Reproductive Rights Assistance Project (WRRAP): Based in Los Angeles, CA, WRRAP ensures that financially-disadvantaged individuals of all ages, ethnicities, cultural backgrounds, gender identities, and sexual orientations, across all states, can access abortion care and emergency contraception.
In addition to providing financial support to grant recipients, Oscar will also provide support and consultations for the organizations to build deep community relationships in areas where Oscar has a presence.
These grants are a part of Oscar's Culturally Competent Care Program that was launched in 2021 to bridge care and accessibility gaps that have historically affected underserved communities. Through this program, Oscar leverages its member experience and technological expertise to help people find culturally competent and sensitive care. This has included the collection of provider race, ethnicity, gender, and language data to support member preferences and network adequacy, the creation of member experience initiatives designed to improve satisfaction and healthcare outcomes, and earning the NCQA Multicultural Healthcare Distinction (MHC) in California.
About Oscar Health
Oscar Health, Inc. (“Oscar”) is the first health insurance company built around a full stack technology platform and a relentless focus on serving its members. At Oscar, our mission is to make a healthier life accessible and affordable for all. Headquartered in New York City, Oscar has been challenging the health care system's status quo since our founding in 2012. The company’s member-first philosophy and innovative approach to care has earned us the trust of over one million members as of June 30, 2022. We offer Individual & Family, Small Group and Medicare Advantage plans, and +Oscar, our full stack technology platform, to others within the provider and payor space. Our vision is to refactor health care to make good care cost less. Refactor is a term used in software engineering that means to improve the design, structure, and implementation of the software, while preserving its functionality. At Oscar, we take this definition a step further. We improve our members’ experience by building trust through deep engagement, personalized guidance, and rapid iteration.