Mavie – Healthier is better
Against the backdrop of constantly increasing demands for prevention, medicine and care, UNIQA is pursuing the goal of developing into a holistic healthcare provider. In order to position itself accordingly in this attractive market, the Group has already bundled its healthcare activities beyond the traditional insurance business in Mavie Holding in 2022. Alongside an ever-expanding range of offerings, Mavie unites both the PremiQaMed Group and UNIQA Health Services under one roof, thus creating a comprehensive “health ecosystem”
The diverse portfolio now ranges from private clinics, medical centres and outpatient clinics, health networks such as LARA, VitalCoaches and VitalHotels, and 24-hour care all the way to company health management, telemedicine and innovative home health tests. The result: ever new and even more attractive offers for a growing number of customers – both existing and new. In 2023, Mavie once again expanded its portfolio and made decisive progress on numerous projects.
Health as a challenging – and attractive – market
Health has not just been a central issue in people’s minds since Covid-19: for nine out of ten people, it is the most important factor for their happiness. This highlights the growing importance of a functioning and high-quality healthcare system.
But the challenges are manifold: the population is aging, and many people suffer from chronic cardiovascular or musculoskeletal diseases, stress or insomnia. Even the younger generation is increasingly complaining about mental health problems. As a result, the demands on the health system are growing continuously, and care and nursing are also becoming more and more important.
Prevention would be the order of the day in this scenario. However, conventional healthcare relies on traditional “repair medicine”. Only about 2 per cent of the total expenditure in Austria is spent on prevention, the rest is on inpatient and outpatient care (source: State of Health in the EU – Austria Country Health Profile 2021).
Exploding costs and a shortage of skilled workers are pushing the system to its limits. And although the healthcare system in Austria is one of the most expensive in Europe, physical and mental illnesses continue to rise.
New concepts are called for here, in particular a shift in our thinking from pure care towards prevention. Accordingly, health offers by employers are becoming increasingly relevant and are far more than just a lifestyle issue. Individual prevention awareness also urgently needs to be raised to a new level, however. At the same time, efficient and high-quality treatment – both inpatient and outpatient – must be ensured in the event of illness. The same applies to competent care services so that people can grow old with dignity.
Mavie: on the way to becoming a holistic healthcare provider
UNIQA can make a contribution in all these areas and therefore seeks to establish itself as a holistic healthcare provider. Our aim is to accompany and support people in matters of health throughout their lives – mentally and physically, in their private lives and at work.
To do so, we deliberately go beyond the traditional insurance business and, building on initiatives that we have already taken in the past, offer a broad portfolio of services – from company and private pension plans to high-quality care and nursing services and first-class medical treatment options in private clinics, medical centres and outpatient clinics. In this way, we address people, organisations and companies with an interest in actively promoting health and well-being, including both existing UNIQA customers and new customers.
In order to bundle our activities in this area under a single banner and make them more effective, we founded Mavie Holding in September 2022. The goal here is to further develop and expand the existing programmes in a structured manner. In addition, we are continuously identifying and evaluating new business models and service areas in order to pursue those that show promise.
Specifically, Mavie Holding currently encompasses the following activities:
- Mavie Next (previously SanusX) was founded by UNIQA in 2020 as a corporate start-up and is a subsidiary of Mavie Holding. It combines Mavie Work, an innovative provider of occupational healthcare, and a 39 per cent stake in cura domo, the 24-hour care company that is the market leader in Austria. Mavie Next is also responsible for exploring new business models in the healthcare ecosystem and has met with great success in this area. In 2023, the portfolio was expanded to include the MavieMe brand developed by Mavie Next with innovative blood and gut microbiome tests for home use and the Polish market leader for telemedicine Telemedi.
- Austria’s leading PremiQaMed Group, which has been part of the UNIQA family since 2011, represents traditional medical care at the highest level with its private hospitals, medical centres and outpatient clinics.
- Similarly, UNIQA Health Services offers access to the services and advice of more than 800 network partners through health networks such as LARA (covering labs, physicians, X-ray services and pharmacies), especially in the outpatient sector.
MavieMe: a quantum leap in prevention and early detection
The launch of MavieMe in 2023 represented a significant expansion of Mavie’s portfolio. The MavieMe service developed by Mavie Next offers innovative medical health tests for home use, enabling professional analyses of blood and the gut microbiome. MavieMe acquired around 5,500 customers in its first year, and further scaling is now planned for 2024. Six customised test packages for different goals help users take their fitness to a new level, achieve their desired weight or simply stay healthy in the long term. It is also possible to compile personalised tests with desired parameters. MavieMe makes testing a quick and convenient experience. All tests can be easily ordered at mavie.me and also sent back by post. MavieMe relies on certified medical laboratories that use state-of-the-art technologies for performing these analyses. In addition to the test results, personalised medical action recommendations are included. In view of the fact that only a minority of Austrians have regular check-ups, this is a significant contribution to prevention and early detection. For the gut microbiome tests, Mavie cooperates with the Austrian MedTech company Biome Diagnostics GmbH (BiomeDx), in which Mavie has also acquired a 20 per cent stake.
Preventive care from the comfort of your own home
Offering/services
Blood and gut microbiome tests for home use; prevention and early detection
Customers
Around 5,500
Telemedicine: Mavie makes a significant acquisition in Poland
By acquiring a majority stake in the Polish company Telemedi in 2023, Mavie secured a significant position in the growing European telemedicine market, while at the same time giving a new impetus to innovation in the healthcare sector. The market volume for telemedicine in Europe is currently estimated at €12 billion, with annual growth rates of up to 14 per cent. Telemedi holds a market share of 23 per cent in the Polish teleconsultation market, serving doctors, health insurance companies, laboratories and patients. More than 300,000 patients rely on the services of the company, and more than 500,000 medical enquiries are processed annually through the platform. The goal now is to unlock the shared potential by expanding and strengthening Telemedi’s portfolio through existing services from UNIQA, as well as by expanding into additional markets.
Holistic health programs for healthier employees
Offering/services
Occupational health management (diagnostics, physical and mental health, nutrition), organisational development, occupational and organisational psychology, prevention and check-ups
Customers
178 companies
EAP support
140,000 employees (EAP: Employee Assistance Programme)
cura domo: further growth in 24-hour care
Mavie (previously SanusX) already acquired a 39 per cent stake in cura domo, the Austrian market leader for 24-hour care, in 2021. The company, specialising in home nursing and care, has been successful in Austria for over two decades and was able to significantly expand its business radius in 2023. About 1,200 families already rely on the professional care provided by cura domo. The company fulfils an important function in the Austrian healthcare market: as the population is growing older, more and more people would prefer to age in their own home independently, safely and with dignity. A good reason for Mavie to invest in cura domo, expanding its range of services in collaboration with the existing owners, and with a focus on the future.
Austria’s number 1 for 24-hour care
Offering/services
Home care, assisted living and facility management
Customers
Around 1,200 families
PremiQaMed Group: investments totalling €245 million at two locations
With extensive investments in the private hospitals of the PremiQaMed Group, UNIQA is setting new standards in medicine and care: in addition to the €65 million that is already being invested in the current expansion and modernisation of Döbling Private Hospital, another €180 million will be invested in the joint new construction of the Confraternität and Goldenes Kreuz private hospitals in Vienna’s eighth district. The five-story extension in Döbling featuring new operating theatres, more space for the maternity ward and additional single rooms for patients will be operational at the end of 2024, with further modernisations in the existing building to follow by 2026. The new building for Confraternität and Goldenes Kreuz will be one of the most modern private hospitals in Austria when it opens by mid-2028, with 120 beds in four wards, six operating theatres, two endoscopy rooms, four delivery rooms and an outpatient and doctor’s office centre.
Leading operator of private hospitals, comprehensive provider of private medicine
Offering/services
5 private hospitals, 1 outpatient clinic, 1 rehabilitation centre, 1 health centre
Patients
approx. > 51,000 inpatients, > 130,000 outpatients
LARA: New Medical Partner Centres in Vienna-Döbling and Graz-Ragnitz
UNIQA is constantly working on expanding the LARA healthcare network through new partnerships. After all, the option of housing consulting laboratories, outpatient doctors, X-ray institutes and pharmacies under a single roof facilitates appointment coordination and significantly shortens the distances for patients. In 2023, important progress was made here with the intensification of cooperation with Döbling Private Hospital, the Döbling Outpatient Center and the Döbling Doctor’s Office Center, as well as with the Graz Ragnitz Private Hospital. In June, the Graz Ragnitz Medical Partner Center marked the opening of the third UNIQA Medical Partner Center within just one year. Just like the location in Vienna-Döbling, it offers acute care, outpatient services and preventive care under one roof.
UNIQA Health Service: powerful health networks
Offering/services
Service and convenience through partner networks (LARA, VitalHotels, VitalCoaches, etc.) with numerous healthcare providers (quick appointments, 24/7 service, digital appointments, medical advice via video consulation, prevention, wellness, fitness, etc.)
Customers
> 50,000
Network partners
> 800 that share the journey of “staying and becoming healthy” (doctors, doctor’s offices and health centres, laboratories, X-ray institutes, pharmacies, fitness, lifestyle, prevention, etc.)
New models for recruitment and innovation
Mavie is not only creating new positions in the UNIQA Group in the areas of health and innovation, it is also taking innovative approaches to talent recruitment. The company sets standards for diversity and embraces new forms of collaboration.
The young Mavie team currently brings together members from more than 20 nations, giving it a global perspective on the topic of health. The diverse professional backgrounds of the team members range from start-up experience, medical expertise, M&A, agile working methods and user experience design to business development and global brand development.
A core element of Mavie’s recruitment and innovation strategy is the annual Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EiR) programme: during each seven-week cohort, ideas are developed and implemented, and viable prototypes are often brought to market. The programme attracts the world’s leading talent from renowned universities such as INSEAD, London Business School, Cambridge Judge Business School, Imperial, Vienna University of Economics and Business, University of St. Gallen and Oxford Saïd Business School, among others. By combining different disciplines such as healthcare, medicine, business management and economics, Mavie not only achieves the primary goal of recruiting top talent but also benefits from a positive side effect, namely the rapid development of new ideas for innovative business models. The EiR programme also strengthens Mavie’s positioning with leading international business schools and universities. In 2023, it was held successfully for the fourth time.