The Telehealth Solution
Modern Times Call for Modern Benefits
We’ve all been here… It’s 10 pm on a Saturday and you start to feel sick. Your options are limited: you can wait until Monday morning when your doctor’s office opens, but you know you will have to wait quite a while before being seen. Plus you’ll have to take at least a couple hours off work to see the doc. What about urgent care? The ones near your house aren’t open past 9 pm. It seems the only remaining option would be the Emergency Room, even though it’s not an emergency, so there is no way that is happening. So now what? The telehealth solution is what.
Don’t let this situation happen to your clients and their employees. Since the ACA, emergency room visits have increased as well as the wait times in the doctor’s office. 28% of emergency department physicians report a significant increase in emergency patients since the ACA was adopted.[i] And in Boston, patients can wait up to 66 days for an appointment with a family physician.[ii] What’s the solution?
The Telehealth Solution
Telehealth provides employees with 24/7 virtual access to physicians who can typically prescribe medication when needed for those pesky acute illnesses we all face. They can consult with doctors by phone or video chat, and 70% of typical doctor visits can be handled effectively over the phone.[iii] But it’s not just about the convenience. This benefit diverts employees away from costly emergency room and urgent care visits, saving their employers money in the long run. Telemedicine can result in $300 to $1,000 in claims cost savings from a single use.[iv] It is these redirection of claims that have the greatest impact on a group’s plan.
TelePack
Telehealth isn’t the only non-insurance benefit that should be on your radar. Our TelePack is a bundle of products and services—truly a complete solution for brokers wanting to not only reduce healthcare spend, but also encourage employees to be better consumers of healthcare. New Benefits’ TelePack includes Telehealth, Health Advocate Services, eDocAmerica and Health Wealth Connection.
eDocAmerica
Many times throughout the year consumers may have health-related questions and curiosities that don’t warrant seeing a doctor. How do they research? Google and WebMD. This leads to self-diagnosis and often irrelevant and misleading information. eDocAmerica provides employees email access to a team of medical professionals to answer their questions personally and securely.
Health Advocate Services
Health Advocate comes in when employees want to know more about their health plan, medical treatments, or medical bills. Advocates can locate doctors, coordinate care and even resolve claims. With Health Advocate as a resource, employees spend less time burdening HR with these questions and challenges.
Health Wealth Connection
In one of Marti’s blogs, she mentioned stressed employees rack up 46% higher healthcare costs than their more relaxed co-workers, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Employers have every incentive to help their employees reduce stress and stay healthy. Health Wealth Connection is unique in that it provides resources and information not only on physical and mental health, but also financial wellbeing including tips on saving money, debt consolidation and retirement planning.
Call Us.
Our TelePack is already being offered by Fortune 500 companies, restaurant chains, school systems, and more. In fact, 70% of employers who are presented with these programs purchase them for their employees. Bring this benefit solution to your clients before they ask for it. Contact me today to discuss how I can help you create a program to meet your clients’ needs.
–Raygin Burris, Director of Business Development
Copyright © 2015 by New Benefits, Ltd. All rights reserved.
[i] American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), 2015.
[ii] Merritt Hawkins’ 2014 survey
[iii] American Medical Association
[iv] American Medical Association