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3 Ways Recuro is Offering Employers Economic Relief & Fighting Inflation

3 Ways Recuro is Offering Employers Economic Relief & Fighting Inflation

Business owners are facing real-world challenges. With inflation on the rise and growing concerns about the economy, employers are anticipating higher healthcare costs. In fact, over 50% of employers expect healthcare costs to exceed their budget this year. But there is HOPE! Employers are restructuring their benefits in order to reduce costs and refocus on tried-and-true solutions like Virtual Urgent Care, Virtual Primary Care, and Virtual Behavioral Health that can make a difference to their bottom line. Here are three ways that Recuro’s virtual care solutions help employers, and employees, save money on healthcare:

 

Eliminating Costly Claims 

Medical costs are reduced when virtual care is provided independently of group medical plans. In the event of a non-emergent episodic health event, telemedicine is available 24/7 nationwide. Providing convenient virtual access eliminates the need for employees to travel to doctors’ offices, urgent care centers, and emergency rooms, thus reducing the impact of medical claims.

More than 50% of Americans are diagnosed with chronic diseases, which increases medical claims and accounts for 86% of employer healthcare expenditures (2, 3). Additionally, 30% of those visits to the emergency room with chronic illnesses can be avoided. Employees with chronic conditions can improve their health and reduce claims from unnecessary in-person visits by improving care management and early prevention through virtual primary care.

 

Diverting Medical Expenses

It is estimated that preventable emergency room visits cost at least $47 billion (about $140 per person in the US) annually (5). By helping employees avoid unnecessary doctor consults, urgent care, and emergency room visits and steering them to virtual care, medical claims drastically decrease, and more costs are diverted.

Time is money too, and employees’ productivity is greatly increased when they have faster access to virtual care. The use of virtual care solutions allows employees to avoid long wait times, arrange childcare and take time off from work.

 

Optimizing Lower-Cost Alternatives

A survey revealed that 40% of Americans do not have $400 for emergency expenses in the event of a medical emergency. (6) The rising cost of healthcare has left a substantial portion of the population without access to the care they need. A visit to an urgent care center usually costs between $100 and $150, depending on insurance coverage, annual deductibles, and copays. (7) Meanwhile, the average cost of an emergency room visit is more than $1,300.’

Employees are motivated to prioritize their health with low-cost virtual care services, decreasing downstream healthcare costs for themselves and their employers. Affordable virtual health services, such as telemedicine, virtual primary care, or virtual mental health, drive utilization among employees and their families. By increasing the use of virtual care, more diverted costs are incurred, and fewer medical claims are filed.

In addition to being expensive, mental health support is difficult to access. A psychiatry or therapy appointment can cost anywhere from $100 to more than $200 on average. For best results, patients should continue to see counselors over many weeks, months, or years. It is not surprising that cost is a major deterrent to seeking healthcare. The benefits of virtual mental health care, however, include quality and low-cost care for patients and their families.

About Recuro

Recuro is an integrated digital health solutions company with a uniquely personalized, holistic and proactive approach to virtual health. Recuro’s Digital Medical Home™ enables easy connectivity to virtual care, including primary and urgent care, behavioral health, at-home lab testing, genomics testing, as well as a suite of supplemental benefits spanning pharmacy, care management and care navigation all on one platform. www.recurohealth.com

 

Sources:

  1. https://hrexecutive.com/employers-prepare-for-significant-jump-in-healthcare-costs/?oly_enc_id=0906G2495478E2U
  2. https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2020/20_0130.htm
  3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5798200/
  4. https://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20190207/TRANSFORMATION03/190209949/
  5. https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/unnecessary-er-visits-cost-47b-a-year-report-finds.html
  6. https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/files/2021-report-economic-well-being-us-households-202205.pdf
  7. https://www.debt.org/medical/emergency-room-urgent-care-costs/
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