Virtual primary care company HealthTap is expanding its reach to millions of Americans by now accepting health coverage for its services.
The company said this week that the platform is available in all 50 states, offering a range of on-demand clinical services with standard copayments. HealthTap is also in-network with a number of insurers, including both commercial and Medicare Advantage (MA) plans.
HealthTap can work within both fee-based and value-based models, the company said.
Sean Mehra, co-founder and CEO of HealthTap, told Fierce Healthcare that expanding to accept a wide array of insurance coverage was critical to meeting the team's mission of broadening access to as many people as possible through virtual primary care.
"To truly achieve this mission of maximizing the number of consumers that can affordably access [your platform] requires such a practice to be maximally compatible with as many insurances as there are in the country," he said.
Using HealthTap's app, patients can schedule an appointment with a board-certified provider. They're able to build deep, long-term relationships with a primary care physician via phone or video visits and can follow up via text message with concerns or additional questions for 90 days.
Mehra said HealthTap's focus on building that relationship is why the team looked to the MA market, as that's of particular interest to seniors who may be balancing multiple chronic needs.
He acknowledged the challenges facing the virtual care market amid financial challenges for legacy players. Optum and Walmart are among those that have shuttered their virtual care segments.
Mehra said it's critical to success to not treat virtual primary care the same way one might treat telehealth for an urgent care visit. HealthTap also does not operate in-person offices, which saves costs on the operations side, he noted.
"Our approach, just not only from a business sense but from a commercial sense, is contrasted because, first of all, it's not urgent care," he said. "It is truly choosing to keep the same doctor over the long run. Secondly, it doesn't have the geographic and cost constraints of operating brick-and-mortar practices."
The company noted in the press release that in a beta test earlier this year, it found 95% of those who visited a HealthTap provider and used their insurance coverage during that visit gave a rating of five out of five stars.