Lantern, a specialized care company, and Marathon Health, a primary care provider, have announced a new partnership aimed at decreasing specialized care expenses for employers. This collaboration was officially introduced on Thursday.
Based in Dallas, Texas, Lantern directs health plan members and self-insured employers to top-performing local providers for surgery, cancer treatment, infusion care, and other medical needs. Conversely, Marathon Health partners with employers and union sponsors of benefit plans to deliver both in-person and virtual primary care services.
Through this partnership, employers who are clients of Marathon and currently do not provide Lantern’s specialized care can now purchase these services directly via Marathon. This streamlines the contracting process and integrates primary care with specialized care, according to the two companies.
Marathon’s providers will identify members in need of specialized care and refer them to Lantern. Lantern’s care coordinators will then assist members in selecting specialists, coordinating care, and navigating recovery support. The partnership will initially focus on orthopedic surgery, which is one of the two leading cost drivers for employers.
“Having worked in specialized and acute care, where downstream costs and the impact of fragmented care are most visible, I can tell you that primary care is the main lever we have,” said Chris Pricco, CEO of Marathon Health, in a statement. “When you integrate it with specialized care, you not only reduce costs—you change a person’s health trajectory. This is what we’ve built for employers, and we are honored to partner with Lantern to accelerate this impact.”
Initially starting as a pilot project, the partnership demonstrated higher engagement and adherence rates than Lantern referrals from other sources. For instance, referrals from Marathon led to a 47% increase in completed or avoided surgical interventions. Additionally, employers experienced an average savings of 53% compared to network rates for necessary procedures.
The Colorado Employer Benefit Trust participated in the pilot and noted significant value from the partnership. “This pilot project has demonstrated how improved coordination among our existing partners in the benefits ecosystem can help more members access appropriate care, enhance adherence, and create measurable value,” stated Joe Deba, director of the trust’s administration. “Marathon Health provides substantial value to CEBT members beyond high-quality care, taking an active role in aiding members to navigate the complex healthcare system and better understand which benefits are most relevant for them, including Lantern.”
By launching this partnership, both companies aim to ultimately make access to care easier for members, as emphasized by John Zutter, CEO of Lantern. “When benefits don’t communicate, patients often find themselves caught in the middle,” he noted in an email. “A primary care provider might give them a list of specialists to contact, then they are left to figure it out on their own. Through this partnership, primary care providers can not only help members understand a valuable benefit offered to them but also assist in accessing that benefit. Without this connectivity, members may not even be aware that they have access to a program like Lantern that helps them find high-quality specialists and also saves money.”
Photo: mikdam, Getty Images
