Hartford Business Journal

12 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | DECEMBER 13, 2021 Bartosic said. Those savings can be passed on to employees — an attractive benefit amid a tight labor market. UnitedHealthcare plans to introduce its virtual-first medical plan, NavigateNOW, in Connecticut during the first quarter of 2022. Donna O'Shea, UnitedHealthcare's chief medical officer of population health management, said adoption of that service by employers lowers plan premiums by 15%. Savings, insurers said, are due to a combination of factors. For example, virtual care leads to fewer people visiting costlier settings like an emergency room. It also leads to more people using primary care, which can prevent more costly healthcare problems in the future. So far during 2021, UnitedHealthcare members nationally have completed more than 21 million virtual care appointments, up 2,500% from the comparable period before the COVID-19 pandemic started, O'Shea said. Telehealth also makes it easier for people to get care they need quicker, insurers say. Jill Dailey, vice president, Aetna, commercial product, said the Hartford insurer introduced its virtual primary care service in all 50 states in August. "This nationwide service re- imagines the primary care experience and makes it easier for people to get the health services they need, anytime, anywhere," Dailey said. "For example, in addition to primary care visits with a board-certified physician, members have access to a virtual nurse care team through unlimited in-app text or phone for pre-, during and post-visit support, including navigation to in-person, local providers as well as labs and testing." More access Healthcare brokers and other experts say the early diagnosis is that telehealth has many more advantages than disadvantages and is here for the long term. By Robert Storace rstorace@hartfordbusiness.com T he global pandemic forced healthcare providers to adopt virtual care almost overnight, bringing to the mainstream a service previously used by only a small percentage of people. But now telehealth is becoming a normal and important part of the healthcare delivery system, partly because employers are demanding it. The best evidence of that is the recent or planned roll out by Connecticut insurers — including Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Anthem, Aetna, Cigna and UnitedHealthcare — of virtual primary care plans, which aim to provide greater and quicker access to physicians at a lower cost. The first to offer virtual primary care coverage in the state was Harvard Pilgrim, which rolled out its plan in January to more than 1,000 local employers representing about 25,000 members. Harvard Pilgrim teamed up with Doctor on Demand to launch the plan, which gives members access to primary care physicians through video, voice and in-app messaging 24/7. Services offered include preventive and behavioral health, chronic care management and urgent care. Paul Bartosic, Harvard Pilgrim's Connecticut market vice president, said his company was planning to branch out into the virtual world prior to the pandemic. "Certainly, we believed there would be a trend over time when telemedicine would be more widely accepted," Bartosic said. "We had plans to roll out before the pandemic, but the pandemic did expedite the comfort level people have with telemedicine." From Feb. 2020 to April 2020, the height of pandemic-related shutdowns, Harvard Pilgrim's Connecticut members increased their use of telehealth services by 6,148%. Bottom-line impact One of the attractions of virtual care plans is the cost savings, particularly for employers. Figures vary, but employers that adopt virtual primary care coverage can typically see a savings of about 8% compared to a traditional plan, CT insurers roll out virtual primary care plans as telehealth becomes mainstream Donna O'Shea Paul Bartosic Hartford HealthCare sports neurologist Dr. Stephanie Allessi-LaRosa has adapted her examinations to videoconferencing technology. HBJ FILE PHOTO

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