Trending Now - Virtual Healthcare
Insurance companies and providers alike are now covering and offering this type of care as the demand for it grows. Our time is a scarce resource and no one wants to spend it sitting in a crowded waiting room for those non-urgent matters. Solution – Virtual Healthcare.
What is it? Virtual healthcare, telehealth or telemedicine is the delivery of health care services by providers from remote locations. “Virtual doctor visits” are conducted via your phone, computer or smart device. These visits can take place ‘virtually’ anywhere you have phone service or are connected – your home, office…you get the picture. The virtual care itself is delivered by a vendor contracting licensed physicians to provide the care. Most health insurance companies have a preferred vendor. In addition to that, your insurance plan may also cover virtual visits with your own doctor – that is if your doctor/doctors office provides the technology.
Although coverage differs from plan to plan, here are some examples of what you might use virtual healthcare for:
| *Cold & Flu *Allergies *Skin & Eye Conditions *Urinary Tract Infections | ||
| *Bruises and Sprains *Chronic Care *Mental Health *Medication Refills |
A 2018 Kaiser Family Foundation Study found that the number of large employers (50 employees or more) offering virtual healthcare coverage grew from 63% in 2017 to 74% in 2018.
Will it improve access to care when and where it is needed? Will it drive down the cost of care? Logic says yes. Take into a account, these visits can be accessed from anywhere and that even with health insurance, a typical emergency room bill for a non-emergency service will be approximately $1000. A virtual visit may be lower than your office visit copay.
We still have questions about whether virtual care will drive down the real cost of care, not just what members pay at the time of service. We also should be aware of each vendors cyber-security with such private information transmitting over the world wide web. These providers and vendors have to maintain HIPAA compliance which is a 1996 Federal law providing security provisions and data privacy, in order to keep patients’ medical information safe.
If you want to find out if your plan covers virtual care – contact your health insurance company customer service or give us a call and we can point you in the right direction.
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