5 connected strategy in the health insurance industry 2. Case Studies: Health Insurers' Connected Strategies I n this section, we analyze how three different companies implemented or tried to implement connected strategies across different circumstances and business models: Oscar Health, a B2C, digitally native, customer-centric health insurer specializing in individual health insurance; Aetna, a traditional health insurer who tries to use its industry-changing merger with CVS to provide enhanced value to its customers through connected strategies; and Cigna, another traditional health insurer who has been using M&A as a tool of building its capabilities as a potentially connected firm. oscar health Health tech start-ups in the insurance space, such as Oscar Health, have put connected strategies at the center of their business and value proposition. While traditional insur- ers focus mostly on processing claims and have a business model that involves limited and at most episodic interactions with the end consumer, Oscar Health built a business model that emphasizes the role an insurer can play as the personal concierge of a cus- tomer, meeting needs wherever they occur. Oscar Health customers are encouraged to use the Oscar app as a “front door” to the healthcare system. Members can find doctors, get personalized recommendations for their specific condition or visit purpose, access a Concierge team of four associates including an accredited nurse, schedule virtual con- sultations, and track lab results, prescriptions, claim data, and deductibles.2 Company Background Oscar Health was founded in 2012 with the purpose of changing customer expectations about what a health insurer is supposed to be by interacting with them and earning customers’ trust as a partner in their healthcare journeys. Unlike traditional insurers, Oscar started as a B2C company, launching its individual plans in 2014 and focusing primarily on that market until expanding to business plans in 2017 and Medicare Ad- vantage in 2020. Its launch was inspired by the changing health insurance environment created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which incentivized individuals to purchase insurance plans through marketplaces if not covered under employer plans or Medicare/ Medicaid.3 2 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/oscar-strategy-teardown/ 3 https://www.hioscar.com/faq/affordable-care-act