In honor of National Women's History Month coming to a close and National Employee Benefits Day just beginning, it's an opportune moment to reflect on the journey of EZaccessMD and celebrate the leadership of our President and Co-Founder, Lois Irwin, alongside her husband, Will Irwin. Here's a look at how it all started:

Benefits Revolution: The Next Generation in Employer-Sponsored Healthcare recently became a "#1 Amazon Best Selling Publication.” I feel deeply honored to pen a chapter in this book, alongside a select group of thought leaders in the healthcare industry. For advisors and employers aspiring to not only challenge the status quo but also enhance their appeal in the marketplace, this is a must-read.

As we bid farewell to the challenges of the past year and welcome a new beginning in 2024, the landscape of healthcare is evolving rapidly. One of the key disruptors reshaping the industry is the rise of in-home healthcare services, with EZaccessMD at the forefront of this revolutionary wave. For CFOs and HR representatives, the implications of embracing in-home healthcare solutions extend far beyond employee well-being. Here's how the shift towards in-home healthcare can be a game-changer for employers and their workforce in the year ahead:

There is a superhero in all of us, we just need the courage to put on the cape. This month we are putting on the cape to fight the battle most employers face against absenteeism. The CDC reports that annual productivity losses linked to absenteeism cost employers $1,685 per employee. That’s a problem - one that's been going on for a long time, but yet we continue to take the same approach year after year.

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) can be used to pay for telehealth, leveraging the power of these vehicles to ease the sting of rising out-of-pocket costs that make healthcare unaffordable. But there’s an even more effective way to leverage employer-provided benefit allowances. Employers are starting to adopt Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA) in conjunction with a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) called a Post-Deductible HRA.

Remember the good ole' days of driving to the bank on Friday evening to deposit your paycheck after a long week? What about going to an actual brick & mortar store to pick up the newly released album by Prince? Or even just meeting up with an old friend to connect and have an actual in-person conversation? Well I think we all know by now that those days are long gone and have been replaced by digital advancements like direct deposit, streaming, and Facetime. So what is the motor behind these advancements in today's society? Convenience.

Navigating the maze of health insurance options can be overwhelming. But when illness strikes, the uncertainty deepens. We find ourselves grappling with questions like where to turn for care—should we visit a primary care provider, rush to urgent care, or head straight to the emergency room? In these moments, fear and confusion can cloud our judgment, especially when our symptoms are intense and we fear a medical crisis. Yet, making the right decision is paramount, as it can truly be a matter of life or death.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality selected the University of Rochester Medicine Center (URMC) for a grant to study high-intensity telemedicine’s impact on the local elderly population in 2009. Reflecting the group’s mission to make acute healthcare more accessible and affordable, it proved to be a tipping point in my career. In short, this cohort study’s results became the guiding principle for EZaccessMD’s launch.

  Featuring President + Co-Founder, Lois Irwin   I first learned about the power of mobile medical services as an undergraduate student at Cornell University volunteering at a hospital in Liberia. Citizens of this very poor West African country suffered from severe malnutrition and an infant mortality rate of over 50%. Most people lived with a low-grade infection of malaria since medications to prevent this disease were unaffordable.