Hi Michelle -

In Medicare, most family practice office visits will continue to be covered as they have been during the federal PHE through December 31, 2024. Starting on January 1, 2025, the originating and geographic site restrictions will resume unless Congress acts to extend the flexibilities or eliminate these restrictions. In Medicaid and for commercial plans, in most states and plans, virtual care for family practice office visits will be covered (though details about specific coverage and payment rules will vary by state and plan).

Jared

Hi Erin -

We are seeing that most employers are continuing to support coverage and payment for telehealth visits. We continue to see fairly robust coverage in the commercial market though there are states and plans where there are coverage and payment challenges.

Jared

I think this is less about minimizing absenteeism and more about providing health benefits that employees appreciate. I believe that virtual visits will continue to be covered because providing access to this care delivery channel is part of health benefit table stakes.

There is another employer-related dynamic that is worth following:

The expanding role of large corporations in health care and the role of telehealth in their offerings.

Controlling employee health costs and expanding access is one of the many reasons they are doing so.

For example, Amazon has Amazon Clinic (formerly Amazon Care) and Walmart has MeMD.

One has to wonder how their large market presence, brand recognition, vast resources, and innovative models will affect the market.

And above all: what will be the experience of their employees and customers?