Sana Review

About Sana

Starting a small business of your own^[1] is as exciting as getting married to your lifelong crush. There’s a rush of emotions, a swirl of hormones, and a deep feeling of achievement. However, after those splendid feelings die down, life hits you. You now have people to support. Depending on how close you are to your employees, you may even call them a family.

Married couples often have some form of insurance^[2] to take care of one another in case something happens, but small business owners don’t have that luxury. There are no two ways around it, healthcare is expensive. 

However, as a good boss, you don’t want to leave your employees to flounder under medical bills^[3]. You don’t want to see them suffer or lose work because of an unexpected emergency, but what are you going to do…perform the surgery yourself?

Perhaps you should look into Sana Benefits. The company makes health insurance easy for small and medium-sized businesses. They offer simplified plans that any business owner can understand and extend to their employees.

Sana’s social media presence may be small with only 700 Facebook likes, but they provide coverage to businesses in multiple states and have several recognized providers like Plush Care and 2nd.MD working alongside them.

My Sana review will give you all the information you need to know so that you can make an informed decision as to whether or not they’re right for you. I’ll tell you about the brand’s model, how their services work, what to expect from them, what their plans cover, and more.

Why You Should Trust Us

Our mission is to help you make better, more informed purchase decisions. Our team spends hours researching, consulting with medical experts, gathering insight from expert professionals, reviewing customer feedback, and analyzing products to provide you with the information you need.

Overview of Sana

Sana established themselves in the country that has the loudest outcry against the current healthcare system, the United States. In contrast to the convoluted mess that is the American healthcare system, one which breeds contempt at best and feelings of abandonment at worst, Sana strives to make coverage affordable for everyone, accessible to all, and understandable to the common folk. 

They are an Austin, Texas-based company with friends in Silicon Valley. Venture firms and reinsurance partners there helped Sana get off the ground back in 2017. 

Part of the reason why so many people like Sana is because of the brand’s clarity. They explain what benefits everyone has access to and what those benefits cover. They also don’t penalize clients for receiving out-of-network care. Additionally, there are zero-dollar treatment options for employees who are in tight spots financially. 

That’s not all there is to appreciate about this brand, as you’ll find out through the course of this Sana review. To give a better idea of how they work, let’s go through a couple of their highlights.

Highlights

• All plans are PPO-plus
• Attain a free quote quickly
• Free virtual appointments
• Your choice of doctor
• ACA compliant
• No out-of-network fees

These are the types of coverages you can get through Sana Health Insurance:

• Medical care
• Dental care
• Vision aid
• Virtual primary care
• Mental health and wellness
• Physical fitness
• Maternity care
• Pediatric care

Sana Benefits Review

There’s plenty of information to cover in this Sana Benefits review, so strap in. Health insurance is often messy and complicated. Sana works to remove that clutter but there are still some details I must tell you about so that you can fully understand how the brand works. 

Before I get into those details, you might be wondering how Sana connects users with providers. Simply put, providers sign up for the service (which I’ll cover later in this Sana review), and users search through the available providers.

Sana does organize the system so that you’re not toiling through an unsorted heap of healthcare providers. They encourage their partners to improve in certain capacities so that they can serve more clients. This encouragement benefits both parties as providers get more clients, thus earning more money, and clients access better providers more quickly.

Sana prioritizes that providers create care options that are accessible as possible. Whether that’s making appointments virtual^[4] or hosting group sessions, Sana’s providers are able to serve a wide variety of people.

The company also approves every provider before they sign up to help customers. Sana has high standards, meaning that all of the providers on the service report high customer reception scores and utilization rates.

This approval process also finds out which providers have the highest success rates. Which providers have return clients? Which ones have the most availability? Which ones are the cheapest? Which ones are located the closest to you? These questions are simply the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all the ways you can search through providers.

How does Sana Works?

Let’s start with three of the most apparent advantages of using Sana. I hinted at these already in the highlights section of this Sana review, but I’m going to expand on them here. They are:

1. Free virtual appointments
2. Choosing the doctor you want
3. ACA compliance

The appeal of the first point is obvious, especially after we’ve spent two years in and out of limbo wherein it wasn’t always wise to leave the house. This posed problems for doctor’s appointments. Thankfully, through Sana’s coverage, employees can meet with doctors from the comfort of their homes in no time at all.

Oh, and these virtual doctor appointments come at no extra charge at all, which is huge for people who need to see a specialist as soon as possible but are afraid of unnecessary fees. 

Next, employees have the freedom to select the doctor or specialist they want to see. This means that if you have low coverage levels, you won’t be forced to speak with a doctor outside of your range. Alternatively, you can consult with a doctor who charges more if you wish. Sana grants employees the peace of mind and responsibility to make their own decisions, like a wise parent allowing their teenage daughter to stay at home alone during the weekend.

Sana’s providers are also ACA compliant. The ACA refers to the American Care Act, and according to ADP (another ACA compliant company) brands who have earned ACA certification are “…are subject to the ACA must offer affordable health insurance that provides minimum essential coverage and minimum value to at least 95% of their full-time employees (including dependents).”

In practical terms, this means that Sana can help you fill out the paperwork required for you to receive adequate coverage. Their website mentions the 1095 and 5500 forms as examples of the paperwork they handle.

For employers, Sana provides a wealth of tools that can make your (and your employees’) life easier. The platform can show you how much a service costs towards your deductible, how much of a service the provider will cover, approve enrollment requests, monitor claims activity, keep track of all your invoices, or add new employees.

All employees can see how far their claims are going so that there’s no confusion on their end about what’s covered and what’s not. 

Additionally, the process of making changes to one’s benefits plan is remarkably easy. The video I watched as research for this Sana review showed it happening in real-time and it consisted of five steps:

• Define the life event that caused you to change your benefits
• Select how you want your benefits to adapt
• Confirm your dependents
• Confirm the benefits
• Review the changes

That’s it. All in all, it maybe takes a minute at most, and that’s if you’re typing like a two-fingered, illiterate dungeon goblin.

Sana Providers

The flip side of the coin with this Sana review is that the brand is enticing for practitioners and providers who are looking to expand their services. Signing up to work with them can bring your expertise to new crops of people that you would’ve never otherwise served. You may even become someone’s go-to specialist all thanks to Sana.

Now, that sounds great, but there is more to the deal than just becoming someone’s best friend. There are tangible benefits beyond elevated exposure. For one, your practice will be featured on Sana’s online directory, meaning that you’ll be among other trusted experts. This can improve your standing.

Furthermore, you can start seeing patients as soon as Sana approves you. You don’t have to wait around for years and years until your beard grows gray as you might with other directories. As soon as you get on, you’re good to go.

Sana also employs a fair pricing model so that you’re getting competently compensated for your efforts. Essentially, you won’t be working pro-bono. Sana will ensure that you’re getting paid.

The last reason why you may want to register with Sana is their lighting-fast communication service. The brand says that they answer calls in 30 seconds or less, which is a breath of fresh air when you’re a remote worker. As someone who suffered enough headaches due to the distances between employers and employees, I feel second-hand relief reading that the company can be with you under a minute’s notice.

Some of the biggest providers that Sana works with are; SanaMD for advanced primary care, Plush Care for virtual appointments with doctors, Blueberry for pediatric care, Ginger for emotional support, Classpass for fitness classes, and Mave for maternity care.

Sana Plans 

Sadly, I cannot give an accurate price to you in this Sana review. I’m not a small business owner, obviously, meaning that I can’t get a free quote. However, I won’t let that stop me from providing you with an idea of how the service can save you money.

Sana reports that their clients save around 20% per year when compared to how much others pay with different insurance companies. The brand’s mathematicians further crunched the numbers and found that this 20% comes out to around $2,000 per year per employee. 

Think about it, would you want to make an extra two grand each year for doing absolutely nothing?

Sana also outlines strategies they implement to keep their costs low. Firstly, they underwrite all their policies and have a claim management process that’s reportedly as efficient as an electricity-generating bicycle.

Clients also pay fixed monthly premiums. This payment plan can help limit the amount of unnecessary spending they dish out. They send out invoice credits that cover 90% of excess claim contributions. In layman’s terms, that means you’ll receive most of the money that you don’t spend back. It won’t go to waste or line Sana’s pockets.

Here’s a breakdown of how Sana’s plans compare:

• HSA Compatible – includes PPO plus HSA, 100% coinsurance, preventative care, and $0 after deductibles on primary care visits, specialty care visits, and physical therapy
• Basic – includes PPO plus, 60% coinsurance, $25 copay on primary care visits and physical therapy, $50 copay on specialty care visits, preventative care, $0 virtual care doctor’s visits
• Essential – includes everything the Basic plan includes except with 70% coinsurance
• Premium – includes everything the Basic plan includes except with 80% coinsurance
• Superior – includes everything the Basic plan includes except with 90% coinsurance

Who Is Sana For? 

The services and plans I’ve spoken about in this Sana review are for small businesses that want to provide their employees with easy-to-understand health insurance.

Sana Reviews: What Do Customers Think?

Sadly, there weren’t many aggregate Sana review scores online. The only number that I could find was on Featured Customers where they held an average score of 4.8/5 stars based on more than 110 pieces of customer feedback.

However, I was able to find a wealth of opinions on both Reddit and the brand’s website. Some of the small business owners on Reddit greatly appreciated Sana for their coverage and affordability. Many reported that Sana was able to take care of most medical issues that would commonly arise.

Here’s one Sana review from a Reddit user that provides more detail.

“I have a client who is covered by Sana (FYI I don’t work for Sana). They are a small-town business and have been using Sana for 2 years. Employees say they love it. They don’t have a lot of options via SHOP or the marketplace – only high deductible HMOs). One employee had knee surgery – called Sana abt 2 or 3 weeks before. Sana took care of getting the Dr signed on, negotiating fees, etc.”

If you read that customer testimonial closely, you might’ve picked up that they said that Sana doesn’t have a huge number of options. This was something I read in a few Sana reviews. The company can only provide coverage to a few select states, which isn’t a knock against them. 

Beyond that criticism, the majority of Sana reviews from buyers was positive. Many were beaming with adoration for the company, writing reviews like, “Honestly this has been the best experience with a health care company that we have had! The benefits are amazing, the prices are low and the customer service is top-notch! I am so glad I found this for our employees!!”

The brand’s customer service was also applauded by clients, both for its speed and for the team’s communication skills.

“With Sana, the person you call actually answers the phone and knows how to help you. It’s night and day. The customer service alone has made me a fan,” writes one happy customer.

The last client testimonial I want to leave you with is this short summary of how most people felt working with Sana.

“I have only had great experiences with Sana. They’ve also helped navigating to get the best care possible for the least amount of cost. They’re always there to walk WITH you through the process.”

Is Sana Legit?

As I said, there’s the issue with the company not reporting where their coverage extends to. I don’t think it’s that bad, but it is worth noting.

Is Sana Worth It?

Everyone should have access to health coverage. If you’re a small business owner who wants to cover their employees and provide them with that access, then you should check Sana out.

Sana Promotions & Discounts 

There weren’t any Sana promotions or discounts while I was writing this review.,

How To Sign Up on Sana

Sign up on the brand’s website, www.sanabenefits.com. 

FAQ

Who owns Sana?

The brand’s co-founder Will Young owns Sana.

Does Sana include TPA?

Yes, Sana includes TPA.

What is Sana’s Privacy Policy?

They reserve the right to use your information with their own discretion. 

Where can you find Sana benefits?

Sadly, Sana doesn’t provide benefits everywhere. They only extend their services to employees in Texas, Kentucky, Illinois, Arizona, Ohio, Oklahoma, Virginia, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Alabama. That being said, the brand is looking to expand as time goes on.

How to Contact Sana

I hope you enjoyed this Sana review! To contact the brand, call (512) 817-3276 or send an email to [email protected].

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