Firms Predict Steady Rise in Health Costs, More Virtual Care
While the COVID-19 pandemic has not caused employers to significantly alter their health care cost estimates for the coming year, it has unquestionably intensified their interest in embracing virtual care. Those are just a couple of the major findings from the Business Group on Health’s 2021 Large Employers’ Health Care Strategy and Plan Design Survey, which highlighted the variety of ways that the current public health crisis is — and isn’t — affecting how self-insured companies view the health care system.
Notably, 80% of respondents said they believe virtual health will play a significant role in how care is delivered in the future, up considerably from 64% last year and 52% in 2018. Further, when asked about actions they were taking to ease the burdens of COVID-19 for employees, the largest share of respondents — 76% — said they “made changes to allow for better access to virtual care solutions.”
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