With continually-rising health benefits costs, more and more employers are looking to High Deductible Health Plans as a way to mitigate their rising expenses. Unfortunately this change in plan design means that the employees are left with an increased exposure for out-of-pocket costs related to the higher deductibles. Many employees are more familiar with the flat dollar copay that… [Read More…]
With the advancement in the telecommunication technology, it has become easier to reach out to the people at remote places and offer them assistance they need. Whether you are a student looking for effective career counseling or a business man looking for business solutions, every service can be procured from the comfort of the home… [Read More…]
Telemedicine offerings on the rise by third party administrators (TPA’s) as self-funded employers prepare for the high costs associated with health care reform. This unconventional approach to patient-doctor visits is using the latest technology to avoid many unnecessary trips for urgent care, and offering people a new level of convenience and flexibility. People’s needs for anytime… [Read More…]
Going to the doctor can be inconvenient at times — it may mean missing work and sitting in a room full of sick people, among other things. Now, telemedicine may change all that. At its most basic, telemedicine — sometimes called telehealth — is any healthcare communication that takes place by electronic means, be it… [Read More…]
How can tiny, self-insuring companies, with say only 30 or 80 workers, bear the risk of unexpectedly large claims? They buy reinsurance, also known as stop-loss coverage. Stop-loss kicks in when somebody’s bills top, say, $20,000 or $50,000. Say you’re a self-covered small business with 70 employees. Your normal annual medical bill is $400,000 (no family… [Read More…]
The number of households using video consultations with physicians will grow, from 900,000 in 2013 to 22.6 million in 2018, according to a report from Parks Associates. Parks Associates added that video consultation revenues will grow from under $100 million in 2013 to $13.7 billion in 2018. By the third quarter of 2013, 28 percent of broadband households in… [Read More…]
Global professional services firm Towers Watson says telemedicine could potentially save US employers $6 billion a year. “While this analysis highlights a maximum potential savings, even a significantly lower level of use could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in savings,” Dr. Allan Khoury, a senior consultant at Towers Watson, said in a statement. “Achieving… [Read More…]
When the weather gets cooler, cold and flu season heats up resulting in more illnesses throughout the country. The U.S. economy spends an estimated $84 billion on sick days annually, yet nearly 90 percent of employees still go to work when they’re sick. While a doctor visit can be inconvenient and costly, the decision to go… [Read More…]
You have probably heard by now about the increasing popularity of telemedicine, or telehealth, an employee health benefit (not insurance!) that can be added to your current benefits plan structure which gives your employees the ability to call a real doctor in their state anytime, anywhere if they are sick. The buzz on telemedicine is picking… [Read More…]
Under a proposed rule setting the Part B physician fee schedule for calendar year 2015, Medicare would expand payment for certain medical and mental health services furnished via telemedicine technologies. “We are proposing to add the following services to the list of services that can be furnished to Medicare beneficiaries under the telehealth benefit: annual… [Read More…]
