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Grail’s Galleri®
Unison Risk Advisors has entered a partnership with GRAIL LLC to offer its clients the Galleri®, a multi-cancer early detection screening test that can detect signals across more than 50 types of cancers. Unison is the first insurance brokerage and risk management firm in the country to offer the test to its clients as an employee benefit.
“Having healthy employees is essential to a successful business,” said Robert Klonk, chairman and CEO of Unison Risk Advisors and Oswald Companies. “The Galleri screening test helps employees monitor their health so they can detect cancers early and begin any necessary treatment. Our goal is to help clients save lives while potentially reducing long-term health care costs.”
How it Works
The Galleri test looks for signals present in the blood that may be associated with cancer at the time of the blood draw. If a cancer signal is detected, Galleri results can point to where in the body the cancer is coming from to help the health care provider guide next steps.
Current medical protocols recommend screening for only a handful of cancers. As a result, many cancers go undetected until they are in the later stages, significantly reducing the survival rate and increasing the cost of treatment.
However, if cancers are found and treated early, the five-year survival rate increases substantially for those who begin treatment in the later stages of cancer, studies have shown. In addition, starting treatment early has the potential to lower direct medical costs for members with cancer.
“Multi-cancer early detection tests, including the Galleri test, are the new front in the war on cancer. These tests have the ability to simultaneously screen for multiple cancers with a single blood draw,” said Jeffrey M. Venstrom, chief medical officer at GRAIL. “By partnering with Unison Risk Advisors, we are committed to changing the trajectory of health care and employee benefits spending.”
GRAIL recommends the test for those with an elevated risk of cancer, such as people aged 50 or older.