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Not ‘a build it and they will come kind of thing’: Telehealth descends on AHIP19

October 1, 2019

Doctor on Demand and Teladoc were among the telehealth players descending on the insurance industry’s annual meeting this week to tout services aimed at helping payers bend the cost curve.

Telehealth is a multibillion-dollar business, with many companies partnering with payers and employers to nudge workers to potentially save time and money for non-emergency care. Getting workers to sign up is still a challenge, and carrots are needed to spur interest, insurers and telehealth companies said at America’s Health Insurance Plan’s 2019 conference.

“This isn’t a ‘build it and they will come’ kinda of thing,” said Raad Joseph, senior vice president of Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina, one of the first Blues to set a policy around telemedicine, in part to boost care in rural areas. “You really need to develop strategies to drive utilization.”

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