UnitedHealth CEO: Telehealth Lays Groundwork for Cost-Effective Care

Drafted into heavy service during COVID-19 lockdowns as office visits cratered and visit requests soared, then after a recent rough patch, telehealth is emerging as a key strategy to control healthcare costs and improve efficiencies for stakeholders.

Hints of the magnitude of the change came late last year as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reported that use of telehealth services experienced a 63-fold utilization increase among Medicare members in 2020 alone.

Taking it up a notch this week, UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty told attendees of The Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything Festival that telehealth now figures centrally into the insurance company’s planning after proving its mettle at remote triage, cost controls and other efficiencies.

United and its Optum Health unit market a lower-cost health plan for employers that requires patients to be seen virtually before in-person visits. That step is expected to reduce unnecessary trips, tests and related costs when patient complaints can be handled remotely.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday (May 19) that Witty said, “Not everybody will like the idea of a gatekeeper,” adding, “We need to find ways to make this system more efficient, more effective and higher quality. Nobody’s in the market for cheap and cheerful. People are in the market for value and quality.”

See also: As Telehealth Spike Slows, Providers Seek Innovation to Increase Engagement and New Use Cases

Behavioral Telehealth Rising

Witty’s comments echo growing sentiment that telehealth is a crucial tool for lowering costs while improving patient experience. Given the current technological limitations of telehealth platforms for treating physical illness, more of the focus is turning to behavioral health uses.

On Wednesday (May 18) credit ratings agency AM Best released its report “U.S. Health: Vertical Integration Takes Many Different Forms,” noting in a press release, “Access to behavioral health services has been a longstanding concern for insurers, given its importance in an individual’s overall physical health. The need for these services has become even more essential because of the pandemic and the increase in social isolation.”

In that announcement, Bridget Maehr, associate director at AM Best, said, “Virtual care delivery for medical and behavioral health is particularly attractive to younger individuals who prefer more convenient care delivery than traditional office visits. These are services that members may find valuable and can result in greater member satisfaction and retention.”

New Models Emerge

After its mass uptake during the pandemic, telehealth action cooled somewhat, a fact reflected in the recent stock market drubbing of category leaders like Teladoc. But the company is something of a bellwether for the sector, and recent announcements align with telehealth trends around cost controls and better systemic efficiencies.

In late March, Teladoc introduced what it called a “first-of-its-kind framework” Virtual Care Transformation Model based on a study finding that 70% of employers are “planning to fully implement or be close to implementing a whole-person virtual care strategy in the next 3 years” with telehealth as a central pillar of that digital healthcare transformation model.

See also: Teladoc Says Overcrowded Telehealth Field Is Slowing Growth for Fittest Players

Telehealth is helping spur more digital innovation in how patients receive care. In the study “Accessing Healthcare: Easing Digital Frictions In The Patient Journey,” a PYMNTS and Experian Health collaboration, a survey of more than 2,300 U.S. consumers found that the ranks of “digital-first” and “mostly-digital” patients are swelling, and they prefer online access.

Focusing on healthcare portals for scheduling, obtaining test results and more, we found that “64% of all patients use portals, 82% of digital-first patients use them, compared to just 19% of nondigital patients. Younger patients and those with higher incomes also use patient portals more often than others.”

Get the study: Accessing Healthcare: Easing Digital Frictions In The Patient Journey

Payments choice factors into the telehealth debate too, as the technology seeks its place in the healthcare delivery mix.

In PYMNTS’ “Telehealth Digital Payments Report” produced in collaboration with American Express, we find that innovation and modernization of payments are vital to the expanding use of telehealth to lower frictions and costs associated with medical treatment and payment.

Bhavna Sharma, director of U.S. partner acquisition at American Express, said the telehealth surge “opens up the need for healthcare providers to offer a digital — mobile — payments solution in a contactless environment. It will also be imperative that [providers] allow their patients to pay with their preferred payment method to remain competitive amongst their peers and meet patient demand.”

Read the report: Telehealth Digital Payments