Benefit Profiles Inc is dedicated to offering outstanding solutions for agents and I'm proud to report we've found a new one--telemedicine.
Telemedicine has been most sold through TPA's in the jumbo group space or bundled with discount programs direct to consumers in voluntary or individual enrollment platforms. It has really remained on the fringe of the benefits spectrum however til just recently.
Ultimately it's a way to access real, board-certified, American (even Michigan) doctors over the phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The most common ways we see the service is through a phone consultation about typical items addressed in the PCP or urgent care center. However members do consult through the web app using Facetime or Skype or they even consult over a secure email system.
The real key though that excites employees is the doctors can prescribe medications like antibiotics, low grade pain killers or even emergency fills for a maintenance medication. Employers like it because they can see real data about utilization and how many office, urgent care and emergency room visits they are eliminating from their experience.
I am a member and the last time I used the service I sent an email through my web login describing my condition an indicated I wanted to talk to a doctor. My phone rang, I talked to a Michigan-based doc for ten minutes who diagnosed my issue then sent a script to my pharmacy. The entire transaction took me fifteen minutes.
The service through Benefit Profiles is Teladoc (see the video), the nation's leader in telemedicine. It has been around the longest and has the most members. The cost for this service is $3.50 PEPM for groups below 500 and $3.00 PEPM for groups above 500. For this rate, members and their families can access doctors 24/7 with no extra copayments!
I think you'll agree that with the rapidly changing plan designs driven by cost of medical and the ACA, a value packed PEPM that can positively affect a group's actual claims experience but also the experience of the members to their benefit package is indeed a solid solution. I'd love to talk more about this and the several other ideas we have about structuring a holistic approach to employee benefits. Please don't hesitate to contact me to learn more!
616-719-4600
Interested in further study on telemedicine?
Check out this very good article from BenefitsPro magazine. You'll notice the article highlights a telemedicine firm out of Chicago that sells the service fro $6.00 PEPM. That seems to be a common price across the market.
Our BPI webpage on telemedicine features marketing items and flyers regarding the benefit.
This video from Teladoc outlines the 5 reasons for employers to consider the benefit:
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