Amtrak employees live everywhere the train can take you, spanning hundreds of cities and communities from coast to coast.
When Nathan Counts, VP of Total Rewards at Amtrak, started looking into a Centers of Excellence (COE) solution for high MSK costs, he knew he didn’t want to ask employees to travel—but that was the solution he kept seeing from vendors.
The Amtrak team also wasn’t interested in solutions that only cover a narrow range of procedures.
“You might only be talking about five, 10, 20 surgeries a year,” says Counts. “That just wasn’t compelling enough for us as a business.”
He wasn’t sure if they would be able to find a program that works for their unique member population. Until he talked to Lantern.
“What stood out to me about Lantern was the differentiated network,” he says. “I don’t think there was really a comparable in the marketplace. Lantern with their broad network, very deep geographical access becomes a game changer to say, ‘If you need a planned surgery, go to Lantern, you can find something of high quality in your area and we’ll cover the costs.’”
Having a partner like Lantern that has any surgery covered, essentially, that you can think of, allows our members to have an ease of mind and a first stop to get high-quality surgery at no cost to them. It is a win-win.
One Place to Start, No Matter What
Beyond network access, Counts says one of the biggest wins has been simplicity. Lantern covers nearly every planned surgery at no cost to members, which means the answer to “where do I go?” is always the same.
“Having a partner like Lantern that has any surgery covered, essentially, that you can think of, allows our members to have an ease of mind and a first stop to get high-quality surgery at no cost to them,” says Counts. “It is a win-win.”
Instead of managing a patchwork of programs — some procedures here, others through the carrier — benefits teams can point members to a single destination. “If you have a planned surgery in the future, go to Lantern, they’ll help you and they’ll figure it out,” says Counts.
Quality was equally important. “Quality is what you have to lead with in this story,” says Counts. “Having a very deep, robust network that you can trust — that is physician first and then appropriate facilities — is really what our members care about as well.”
Counts also appreciates that the Lantern platform has expanded beyond surgery since those initial conversations.
“As a platform, I think one of the big draws is that Lantern has not only surgeries, but is extending into infusions, into cancer care, and has partners for substance use,” he says. “That allows a lot more concentration for us just to say, ‘Hey, don’t worry about where to go. Start with Lantern and they’ll get you where you need to be.’”
