How FOLX Membership Works if Your Employer Offers It as a Benefit

Get all the fabulous advantages of being a FOLX member through your employee benefits.

November 1, 2023
 . 
10
 MIN READ
Listen to article

If you have FOLX Health as a benefit through your employer, lucky you! 🥳 This means your membership fee to FOLX is completely covered, and your employer-provided insurance helps to cover the costs of visits, medications, and labs. In this article, we’ll introduce you to FOLX, explain what being a FOLX member means, and give you all the information you need to access all your fabulous benefits.

What is FOLX Health?

FOLX Health is a nationwide healthcare provider offering services designed for the LGBTQIA+ community. With a network of LGBTQIA+ specialized clinicians, we offer expert, affirming, and joyful healthcare that celebrates your identity and helps you meet your wellness goals. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ 

And we’re not only experts, but we’re in the community, too. Our team of clinicians has an average of 9 years of experience with LGBTQ+ patients, 50% have published in peer-reviewed journals or presented as LGBTQ+ experts at conferences, and over 75% identify as members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

We also help family members of people in the community and allies within companies (that’s all of you!) with educational resources and other support for building an inclusive workplace.

How does FOLX work with your employer?

FOLX partners with your employer so you can receive all the benefits of FOLX membership at a $0 membership cost to you. If you are on your employer’s medical plan, your insurance then helps to cover the costs of clinical care (visits, medications, labs).

In addition to holistic care for employees, FOLX works with your employer to ensure your company has the resources it needs to support your LGBTQIA+ employees, from providing guides on topics like supporting an employee during a gender transition to offering live webinars in partnership with your ERGs.

What membership benefits do you get as a FOLX member through your employer?

As part of a FOLX membership through your employer, you get access to clinical care (primary care, sexual and reproductive health care, gender-affirming care, and mental health care), care navigation (referrals, letters, insurance support, and more), community support (resources, live events, and support groups), and organizational support (DEI training, ERG support, HR policy support, and more).

Clinical Care

Meet with an expert, affirming LGBTQIA+ specialized clinician via virtual visit, and message your care team anytime. Your care includes:

  • Wellness and preventive care: Diabetes, hypertension, thyroid, allergies, smoking cessation, and more
  • Sexual and reproductive health: PrEP, contraception, STI testing and treatment, erectile function, menopause, PCOS, and more
  • Urgent care/sick visits: GI issues, headache, upper respiratory issues, rash, UTI, and more
  • Gender-affirming care: Gender-affirming hormone therapy, pre and post-op surgery consults, and more
  • Fertility and family building: Preconception evaluation, fertility evaluation, and family building consultations
  • Mental health care: Anxiety and depression medication management, 1-1 therapy (in select states), and clinical and community support

We can also be your primary care provider and conduct your yearly wellness visit or physical! You’ll pay for clinical care at FOLX with the same copays or coinsurance as any other in-network provider.

Care Advocacy and Navigation

FOLX members receive holistic support via Advocacy and Navigation teams who you can message anytime in the FOLX Help Center. This includes:

  • In-network clinical referrals to in-person providers for care we can’t treat over telehealth, like mammograms, colonoscopies, surgeries, and more (We have a network of over 20,000 vetted and qualified providers across all specialties!)
  • Non-clinical referrals like hair removal services, vocal coaching, legal services, stylists, and more
  • Letters for name and gender marker change or surgery letters 
  • Lab navigation to help you with any issues or questions you have when getting lab work done
  • Prior authorization support to make sure your care is approved by your insurance
  • Insurance support like claim denial assistance and more

Care advocacy and navigation is a fully covered part of your benefit and does not come with any additional costs for you.

Community Support

At FOLX, we know the importance of community. Many of us have been through the health care system and live our lives as LGBTQIA+ folks. Our membership includes support from your fellow community members because we know no one does it alone. 

Our FOLX Community Platform is packed with resources and educational materials and is a space to connect with others. This includes:

  • Support groups to connect with other members in a live, virtual environment facilitated by a community peer
  • Live educational sessions such as injection training with a nurse to help you through giving yourself a shot
  • Resources and guides for injections, labs, estrogen, testosterone, and more
  • Events such as talks with members of the community
  • Community discussions in a forum with other members

All FOLX members have access to our community platform at no additional cost, regardless of if you use FOLX for clinical care.

Organizational Support

FOLX assists your employee resource group leaders and benefits team with LGBTQIA+ inclusion efforts. These include:

  • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion training
  • Employee Resource Group support
  • HR policy guidance
  • HRC Corporate Equality Index adherence

We have resources in the FOLX Community Platform on navigating transition at work, how to communicate name changes across your company, recommendations for gender-neutral bathrooms, best practices for communicating pronouns to staff, and much more.

This is all a part of the benefit FOLX provides your employer, so feel free to reach out to us at any time if you want additional materials or support.

How does pricing work as a FOLX member through your employer?

Your monthly membership fee is covered 100% by your employer, so you only pay for clinical services when you need them. Your employer-provided insurance will cover most clinical care; you will just pay your copay or coinsurance for visits, medications, and labs.

Here’s the pricing you can expect:

  • Membership Fee: $0 (covered by your employer!)
  • Visits: copay or coinsurance for your insurance plan (this is generally around $15-30)
  • Medications: Cost varies based on medication and dose. You can either use your insurance at a local pharmacy to pay your insurance prescription copay (check with your insurance to get exact costs), or we have discounted rates from our FOLX pharmacy (and we deliver!).
  • Labs: copay or coinsurance for your insurance plan (this is generally around $15-30)

Included in your membership at no additional cost:

  • Care advocacy and navigation
  • Access to the FOLX Community Platform
  • Messaging with your care team between visits
  • Organizational support resources

If you think your employer might be interested in offering FOLX Health as a benefit, please reach out to us at employers@folxhealth.com. We’d love to have you as part of the community! 🌻

__

FOLX Health is the first digital healthcare company designed by and for the LGBTQIA+ community. Our services include virtual primary care, gender-affirming hormone therapy including estrogen and testosterone (HRT), mental health care, sexual and reproductive health care, preventive care, and fertility consultations. FOLX memberships give you access to LGBTQIA+ expert clinicians, peer support, thousands of LGBTQIA+ resources, and more. Whether you’re lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, gender non-conforming, or nonbinary, you can find LGBTQIA+-specialized health care that helps you meet your wellness goals. FOLX Health is health care that's queer all year. Get all the benefits of becoming a FOLX member and sign up today!