Ms. Jennifer Collier reports

SUN LIFE PARTNERS WITH SOMATUS TO PROVIDE COMPREHENSIVE SERVICES FOR LATE-STAGE KIDNEY DISEASE AND CARDIOVASCULAR CARE

Sun Life Financial Inc.'s Sun Life U.S. has named Somatus as a preferred partner to further support the company's strategy to increase access to care while managing rising costs. Through this partnership, Somatus will deliver a unique and co-ordinated care model for Sun Life's stop-loss members who have late-stage kidney disease and heart disease, two of the most frequently seen conditions in Sun Life's annual high-cost claims report.

Sun Life's solutions, Kidney Care 360 and Heart Care 360, are aimed at two different patient populations, using one unique care management approach that will be an extension of Sun Life's Clinical 360 program. Clinical 360 combines data analytics and clinical expertise to improve patient care and outcomes while reducing costs. Clinical 360 will work with Sun Life's clients to identify members who will benefit most from working with Somatus's multidisciplinary care team to help establish a care plan that is individualized to the member's needs and preferences, including home health.

"Health care costs and access are two of the biggest challenges Americans face when trying to address a health condition," said Jennifer Collier, president, health and risk solutions, Sun Life U.S. "Sun Life is committed to finding ways to directly impact access and quality of care so that our members can experience better health outcomes. We are pleased to partner with Somatus so that our members with kidney or congestive heart disease will receive co-ordinated, personalized care that improves their health and reduces costs for our clients."

Somatus focuses on whole-person care when it comes to both chronic kidney disease and congestive heart failure. Somatus's innovative and comprehensive care model leverages artificial-intelligence-driven technology to address patient care needs related to medication management, care co-ordination, nutritional support and transitions of care support that empower patients to take an active role in their health.

By providing full-service teams of experts to patients living with these conditions, Somatus works with patients' existing providers to act as an extension of their care plan and drive greater health care access, helping to ensure that all aspects of care are being co-ordinated and optimized for improved patient health.

"We are excited to expand our reach and bring our proven medical model to more people through this partnership with Sun Life," said Somatus's co-founder and chief executive officer, Dr. Ikenna Okezie. "Our model has proven outcomes of 17-per-cent reduction in medical expenses and 31-per-cent reduction in clinically avoidable hospitalizations in the Medicare Advantage space, while pro-actively improving access to care where and when it is needed. We look forward to extending similar results to Sun Life's commercial members."

Access to Somatus's services will be available at no additional cost to Sun Life's stop-loss clients. As the largest independent stop-loss provider in the country, Sun Life protects self-financed employers when their employees have a high-dollar medical claim. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, an independent source for health policy research, 65 per cent of U.S. employees are currently in a self-financed plan.

About Sun Life Financial Inc.

Sun Life is a leading international financial services organization providing asset management, wealth, insurance and health solutions to individual and institutional clients. Sun Life has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of Sept. 30, 2023, Sun Life had total assets under management of $1.34-trillion.