Wellfleet Teams Up with binx health to Keep College Students Safe and Campuses Open

SPRINGFIELD — Wellfleet Insurance has teamed up with binx health to offer college clients access to easy at-home/in-dorm sample collection for COVID-19 testing using binx’s enterprise solutions for population health screening.

The ‘binx boxes’ are showing up in dorm rooms of thousands of students on Wellfleet’s college client campuses, offering school officials a quick, easy way to test a campus population, with oversight and test ordering by on-site university clinicians.

The model amplifies the power and reach of university administration in their efforts to test, track, and trace the COVID-19 infection status among students, faculty, staff, and vendors. Students ‘activate’ binx boxes online, complete sample collection in their dorms or at home, then drop off completed kits at centralized locations for lab processing. Results are rapid, often under 24 hours from sample receipt.

Wellfleet, one of the nation’s leading student health-insurance carriers, worked with binx on behalf of client colleges and universities to deliver a first-of-its-kind platform that makes population testing a reality for the nation’s college campuses.

The testing platform offers a unique, modular approach enabling tailored rollout and customized deployment based on university population needs. Serving as a ‘digital hub,’ binx enables seamless linking of patients to university administration via clinician ordering tools, global logistics, at-home/in-dorm sample collection, viral trend analysis and reporting, rapid lab testing, contact tracing, and live customer service and support, all offered at an affordable, per-test fee by university.

“As a health plan built exclusively for the student population, we know the unique challenges our client college administrators face,” said Drew DiGiorgio, Wellfleet’s president and CEO. “As clients face additional expenses with testing, we saw the need to help them find a fast, efficient, accurate, and cost-effective option.”

binx’s deployment in COVID-19 was adapted from its innovative platform for sexually transmitted infections, which also serves the college health community with similar tools.

“The best healthcare solutions are convenient, motivate patients to act, and provide valuable insights to those on the frontlines of care,” said Jeff Luber, binx president and CEO. “To achieve those objectives, schools need tailored, technology-driven testing solutions that reach students and faculty where they live and work to keep in-person learning a reality.”

In addition to introducing clients to tailored COVID-19 testing solutions, Wellfleet has also adapted policies to help members, including helping to ensure student members aren’t saddled with out-of-pocket costs related to COVID-19, and enhanced coverage for telemedicine visits.