Telemedicine was already on the rise before March 2020, when the American healthcare system technologically expanded at exponential rates in order to serve patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the National Business Group on Health, “Large companies say their total cost of healthcare, including premiums and out-of-pocket costs for employees and dependents, will increase to $15,500 per employee in 2021, up from $14,642 per employee in 2019.” CMS predicts that national health spending will grow at an average of 5.5% per year through the year 2027.

With the onset of COVID-19, most healthcare providers scrambled to figure out how to keep seeing patients while still offering quality care. Many turned to a lesser-known platform for their health care needs — telemedicine. The American Academy of Family Physicians defines telemedicine as “the practice of medicine using technology to deliver care at a distance.”

A national survey conducted by Mercer validates everything our customers have been experiencing: telemedicine saves employers and employees money, and the key to this is high utilization rates. Even more so, a low or waived copay is the key to getting employees to use the benefit.