The new fronts in the Telehealth Wars continue to expand, with this week Teladoc announcing that their virtual primary care offering, Primary360, is now available for health plans, employers, and other payers. Babylon Health, in its push into the US market and their upcoming SPAC, also announced that their similar program, Babylon 360, is also being offered to health plans.
Both these services connect the patient users with an assigned doctor and primary care team for ongoing care. They emphasize building a relationship with a doctor and team, not just a random selection previously typical of telehealth. Both Teladoc and Babylon are fully virtual in exams and checkups, sending equipment where needed, ordering lab tests and prescriptions, and accepting your prior health records, plus have 24/7 coverage for urgent situations. Babylon’s service also offers a symptom checker and connection to social determinants of health (SDOH) community services.
It’s obvious that the payer-provider walls are coming down in all directions–telehealth is one more. Babylon, as we noted earlier, acquired two California-based practice groups. Payers like lower-cost, more convenient visits, and after a fractious start, have for some time. Many of the insurtechs either have close relationships with providers or have bought practices (Bright Health’s NeueHealth)–copying the Optums which have affiliations with or ownership of practices all over the US. It’s also another pressure on primary care practices around reimbursement. Often the answer is to either sell out or enter into value-based care arrangements.
For the patient/member, there’s the benefit of convenient care, and a relationship with a team, albeit not with an in-person option right now–if these services are consistent in their promise and steady in their physician/clinician groups. Mobihealthnews (Teladoc)
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