Founded in 2023, Texicare — a Texas Mutual affiliate — offers health coverage to small businesses throughout the state.
Texicare President and CEO Meredith Duncan previously worked at Aetna, Bright Health and Kaiser Permanente. She spoke with Becker’s about the opportunities the insurer has with serving local communities — and the challenges new entrants face.
Now at a smaller, state-focused payer, Ms. Duncan said casting a wide net over Texas — considering it as just a single market — often misses the mark.
“When you’re looking at Texas as ‘one size fits all,’ you just don’t have the same creativity or understanding of what different businesses need in different markets,” she said.
Ms. Duncan said her team listens to agent partners across the state to get a better grasp of what consumers are looking for in different geographies. Texicare also engages with businesses directly for feedback.
For example, through conversations with agents and business owners, she learned employees in the El Paso, Texas, area were primarily concerned with emergency costs, which translated to a TempoPay zero-interest payment option. Texicare’s flagship plan, TotalCare, offers four zero-cost visits each year for each care category, which can serve those with higher utilization needs.
Since Texicare is still in its early years, Ms. Duncan said there is not enough intel yet to unpack cost performance so far.
Despite providing small businesses with more tailored solutions, one barrier the insurer faces is brand recognition. Even if providers themselves are excited about the products, offices may not always be familiar with a particular insurance card.
“The challenge we face with providers, whether it’s hospitals or physician groups, is just brand awareness,” Ms. Duncan said. “Those are very real challenges for any new entrant in the health insurance space.”
To solve the issue, Ms. Duncan said she has visited every market several times within the past year.
“With providers, it’s literally going door to door in their offices and reminding them of who we are,” she said.
