Value

Oral Presentation

(V5-03) Telehealth Services Covered Under an Employee Health Insurance Plan Yields Cost Savings

Presenter(s)

• 

  Matthew Faiman, MD PhD, MBA, FACP

  Medical Director, Express Care Online
  Cleveland Clinic

Numerous studies have suggested a positive benefit of telehealth visits towards saving the health care system on average from $50-$100 per visit.1 According to one study, traditional office visits cost approximately $135 to $175 per visit for commercial payers. When compared to a telemedicine visit which typically costs $49, the internal savings may be as high as $125. Cleveland Clinic's Employee Health Plan (EHP) started covering acute telehealth services for employees who used Cleveland Clinic's telemedicine platform, Express Care Online. Since implementing this service, the EHP has seen an internal cost savings of approximately $30 per visit.

Learning Objectives:

• Review the current comparison of in-person versus virtual visit costs of care
• Discuss methods to evaluate evidence and compare cost savings via telehealth
• Understand the cost savings to a self-insured health system and its implications