COVID-19 has altered the way employees interact with their healthcare benefits, and put the importance of virtual care into the spotlight.
While telehealth services were available before, the pandemic resulted in a 50% increase in virtual visits during the first quarter of 2020, compared with the same period in 2019, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Originally, telehealth was a necessity to ensure social distancing during the peak of the pandemic. Now, these programs have evolved to provide a more personalized and vital option for employers to offer.
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“In its early days, what we think of
Forty-three percent of HR professionals surveyed by the Society for Human Resource Management said their organizations have increased telemedicine benefits due to the pandemic. Additionally, 90% of those surveyed said traditional benefits like healthcare have taken on new importance during COVID.
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In a recent interview with Employee Benefit News, Swartz shared his thoughts on how COVID has impacted virtual care, how employees are utilizing the benefit and what’s in store for the future.
How has the pandemic changed how employees utilize virtual healthcare?
Virtual primary care isn’t just for urgent care anymore. Employees can pick a doctor and continue to see that doctor and really build that relationship as if it was in-person primary care.
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One of the biggest changes is with virtual behavioral health, which has been an incredible value for patients because they can get the care they need and can speak to a therapist in the comfort of their home. It's starting to go away, but there’s been this stigma around behavioral health and going to the therapist. But we've seen an incredible demand for these solutions because people are realizing that they do need to take care of their
What are your predictions for the future of virtual care benefits?
Going forward, employers will look at virtual care in two ways: for small employers, it’s a way to provide some sort of benefit to all of their employees, whether it's full timers or part timers. Then for large employers, virtual care is part of the entire benefits package program that they offer.
Let’s say an employer is offering a high deductible health plan. Their employees might have to pay out-of-pocket until they reach their deductible, or maybe they have $60 co-pays. Because most Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, people are going to avoid going to the doctor because they're scared of that medical bill. But, done right, virtual care can be tied with an insurance plan to give employees first dollar coverage.
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Employees will be able to see that primary care doctor and the therapist without having to pay $100 to $300. They'll be able to use that insurance plan when they need it, more like car insurance. We're going to see more of a hybrid model of virtual and traditional offerings.
How can virtual care help employees become better healthcare consumers?
Most Americans are healthcare illiterate, and it’s not because they're not smart enough; it’s because healthcare is so complex. When you talk to a lot of doctors, they don't understand how insurance works — they can't tell you if a service is covered, or how much you're going to pay. We’re seeing companies, like Health Karma, really focusing on providing a place that offers education, and by focusing on that, you can empower people to navigate their own healthcare.
But we're still not doctors, and that's where virtual primary care is really beneficial. By using virtual care, you're able to talk to your primary care physician and then they can help guide you to what makes sense. This idea of the employee being able to understand and navigate their healthcare is one where we’re going to have to make everything more consumer friendly, but at the same time, it's going to be a combined effort where that patient knows how to use their insurance.
