Walmart is offering employees a 90 percent discount on telemedicine, dropping the price of a virtual visit from $40 to $4, The Denver Post reports.
The retailer reduced the cost of telemedicine services Jan. 1 to increase options for employees seeking care, a spokesperson confirmed to Becker’s Hospital Review. Walmart's health benefits currently cover more than 1 million people enrolled it its Associates' Medical Plan. Through this plan, virtual visits through the Doctor On Demand app are covered like a normal physician’s office visit.
Walmart is one of many employers to offer telemedicine benefits to workers. Eighty percent of large and midsize companies offered the benefit in 2018, according to the report. However, factors like emotion, forgetfulness and preference have kept utilization down. Just 8 percent of employees at large and midsize companies used telemedicine benefits in 2017, according to the report.
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