More Insurers Covering Telemedicine Services in Their Health Plans May 4, 2015 Health Care Reform, Technology telemedicine, UnitedHealthcare 0 Health insurers increasingly are covering telemedicine services. UnitedHealthcare announced last week that it is partnering with three telemedicine firms – American Well, Doctor on Demand, and NowClinic – to cover video-based physician visits at the same rate it covers in-person doctor visits. Through the partnership, the firms will connect some members with physicians via video conferencing technology. Each video visit generally costs patients between $40 and $50 out-of-pocket, but United members now will only have to pay their usual copayment costs for the visits. Several other insurers also have started covering some telemedicine services, including Anthem, and BlueCross BlueShield. Some experts attribute the increased use of telehealth services to Affordable Care Act’s insurance exchanges, since they have enabled consumers to shop around for coverage options. With an influx of insured patients from ACA, telehealth could help ease the patient volume at hospitals and urgent care centers, allowing them to focus on patients who need in-person care. Source: iHealthBeat, May 4, 2015 Comments are closed.
