Community Health Choice announced a first-of-its-kind virtual care plan — Virtual Bronze — last week. Available in the Texas health insurance exchange, it is designed to give comprehensive coverage via telehealth at a low price point to Texans who do not qualify for Medicaid or Medicare.
- The eligible Texans and their families can access an array of virtual care services through Doctor On Demand healthcare technology. Each patient will have a dedicated primary care provider as well as access to preventive care, urgent care, and behavioral health appointments via telehealth.
- “Our mission is to improve the health and well-being of underserved Texans and our new plan offering in partnership with Doctor On Demand gives us a brand new avenue to do that,” said Lisa Wright, president and CEO of Community Health Choice.
- It comes with the lowest premium of all Community Health Choice plans. However, it has the highest out-of-pocket costs.
- The outbreak of pandemic forced many providers to shut their doors and made some patients avoid seeking in-person care. Telehealth proved a key tool in circumventing those challenges and keeping patients connected to their care.
- The latest move from Community Health Choice aligns with similar efforts across the payer industry to cement telehealth as a key care access modality.
- Another payer, UnitedHealthcare (UHC), is also promoting virtual care utilization, which was expanded on January 1. Members of fully insured and self-insured employer health plans are eligible for the offering.
- “As more people and care providers move to a digital-first mindset, UnitedHealthcare will continue to modernize our approach to health benefits and invest in new ways to use technology to help make it more convenient for our members to access primary care and other types of medical services,” said Anne Docimo, MD, chief medical officer of UnitedHealthcare.