For its study, the Kaiser Family Foundation surveyed 1,686 nonfederal companies from January to July 2021, according to a Nov. 10 news release. Another 2,413 companies responded to a single question about offering coverage.
Five survey insights:
- Among companies with at least 200 employees that offer telehealth benefits, 79 percent made changes to their telehealth benefits. At these companies, 27 percent reduced or eliminated cost-sharing for telehealth services. Thirty-five percent of these companies expanded the number of services covered through virtual care.
- More than one-third (36 percent) of these companies added modes of delivering virtual care for their employees. Twenty-eight percent of these companies expanded the setting so their employees could use telehealth services.
- One in 10 companies with more than 200 employees that offered telehealth inked new deals with telehealth providers.
- Among companies with at least 50 employees that offer health benefits, 39 percent made changes to their mental health and substance abuse offerings since the start of the pandemic. Thirty-one percent of the 39 percent increased access through telehealth.
- More than half (55 percent) of companies with at least 50 employees that offer health benefits made changes to their wellness programs because of the pandemic. Forty-three percent of those firms expanded virtual counseling services, 22 percent altered existing programs to be offered remotely and 17 percent added a digital program.
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