Humana will work on pushing Heal’s in-home and virtual care delivery services to its users under this agreement, and Heal will expand its geographical footprint under Humana’s Bold Goal program.
The pandemic has had a massive impact on the economy. But its most significant repercussion has been the stress, and physical health issues individuals across the world have experienced. While companies are addressing this in different ways, the big challenge is to be able to resolve this at the employee’s home in a localized fashion. This goes a step beyond providing general health insurance without information on how to find help.
Companies such as Amazon have started Amazon CareOpens a new window as an initiative to help employees within the comfort of their homes, with telemedicine and at-home visits. This is a step forward in terms of providing access as well as convenience to its employees. Similarly, Apple launched its own initiative called AC Wellness so that employees can get at-home medical services too.
However, if companies had the opportunity to do it through a chosen service provider who also works in corporate health insurance, many more might look at this as a possible benefit for employees, especially those who are vulnerable with health conditions.
HumanaOpens a new window , a healthcare insurance provider, has announced that it will invest $100 million in the telehealth startup Heal. Humana will work on pushing Heal’s in-home and virtual care delivery services to the patients it covers under this agreement. Heal will expand its geographic footprint as part of Humana’s “Bold Goal†program. The program focuses on addressing an individual’s complete health needs, where solutions to address social determinants and health-related social needs will be co-created. Heal implements a range of digital technologies to provide remote and regular monitoring and ensure that the doctors have a better sense of a patient’s health over time.
“The partnership with Heal is part of Humana’s efforts to build a broader set of offerings across the spectrum of home-based care, with high-quality, value-based primary care being a key foundational element,†said Susan Diamond, Humana’s segment president, Home Business, who will join Heal’s board of directors.
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Other providers are also offering virtual services in this space that companies are now evaluating as an essential part of the employee well-being packages.
Doctor on DemandOpens a new window recently introduced Synapse, a new virtual care platform for employers. It integrates and coordinates with the organization’s existing benefit programs. The coverage of care is preventive health, urgent care, chronic care, behavioral health. The unique areas of coverage under these are their day-to-day health and self-care routines, which include healthy eating to preventive lab screenings.
MDLive Opens a new window delivers end-to-end virtual care for individuals, as well as through unique plans for organizations so that they can provide a complete and holistic digital wellness program to their employees. The focus is on reducing the healthcare costs of the company while increasing access to the employee benefits wherever and whenever they need it. The service covers 80+ common conditions under the medical, behavioral, and dermatology categories.
Zipnosis Opens a new window is making virtual medicine convenient for employers. Individuals can get a more personalized care experience through using the entire combination of an online interview, video, and phone consultations, as well as real-time chat. The solution covers urgent care, follow-ups, surgical care, behavioral health, occupational medicine, and more. It has also introduced an online screener for COVID-19 and will deliver test kits to employees’ doorsteps.
Teladoc HealthOpens a new window is a comprehensive virtual care solution also available for organizations. They have more than 450 medical sub-specialties. The platform covers a range of virtual care services such as on-demand visits with licensed doctors, consultations with the world’s top specialists, and mental healthcare services. One of the ways it also supports mental wellness is through BetterHelp, which is the world’s largest e-counseling platform.
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There also aggregators such as AmwellOpens a new window , which actually connect providers, insurers, patients, and even companies to improve access to more affordable and higher quality care.
Telehealth and telemedicine startups have seen an unprecedented rise in the current climate. With the convenience they offer, their growth will likely continue. Even after the pandemic ends, employers may want to evaluate telehealth, telemedicine, and teletherapy as more cost-effective yet easily accessible options as part of their employee benefits package.