Cigna Expands MDLive Telehealth Partnership To Primary Care

Health insurance giant Cigna is expanding online access to primary care physicians via its telehealth partner MDLive for the insurer’s employer-sponsored plan clients.

The move is significant because it greatly expands the use of telehealth and “virtual access” to doctors from the already existing behavioral health and urgent care services MDLive offers Cigna employer-sponsored health plan enrollees. The existing efforts could be considered more as a way to help patients avoid an unnecessary trip to the emergency room or get someone with mental health access quickly to avoid an adverse mental health outcome.

But with a primary health offering from MDLive, executives involved say Cigna is helping doctors more proactively manage the employee’s health, beginning with wellness screenings. MDLive says Cigna will be its first health insurer partner to “offer virtual care for preventive checkups, beginning in the second quarter of 2020.” The deal is a big one for MDLive, which is amid a competitive environment of telehealth companies that include American Well, Teladoc, Doctor On Demand and a host of other companies that include startups.

The full Forbes article can be viewed at this link.