Why telehealth and telepsychiatry remain critical benefits offering
What benefits brokers and employers need to know now.
It’s no secret that the quality and ease of accessibility of healthcare is higher in an urban or more densely populated setting, where medical staff is more plentiful and public transportation makes mobility easier. It also tends to be less expensive because more competition means insurance and charges for care are lower. So there has always been a need to improve the quality and access to healthcare for people in remote areas and for those with poor transportation or mobility issues and to make it cheaper for both employers and patients.
Technology in the form of telehealth and telepsych was already in-use when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, but the global disruption forced the public to rapidly evolve in terms of habits, expectations and the adoption of new technology. As a result, use of telehealth surged in 2020. People got used to the convenience of it. Underserved populations that had a hard time visiting the doctor were more likely to get the care they needed. The patients saved money. Employers saved money (and enjoyed higher productivity from their workers) and insurers saved money as well. Now, a pandemic isn’t forcing us all inside, but the habits and comfort with telehealth and telepsych remain. In this guide we’ll walk you through these two important health services, how they work, how they benefit the employers that offer these benefits and the supplemental benefit accounts that can be used to cover them.