The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) released its annual survey of employer-sponsored insurance on November 10, 2021. The survey reflects health benefits offered in 2021 by private and non-federal public employers with three or more workers: over 155 million persons. For 2021, KFF found that 95% of firms with 50 or more employees covered some health care services provided through telemedicine, up from 85% in 2020 and 67% in 2018.
Among firms offering telemedicine benefits, 79% of large firms (200 or more employees) and 61% of small firms made some changes to their telemedicine benefits. Many employers (66% of large employers and 47% of small firms) increased employee communication about telemedicine resources. Benefit changes included expanding the number of services covered through telemedicine (35% of large firms and 19% of small firms); expanding the number or types of telemedicine providers (33% of large firms and 19% of small firms); expanding coverage for additional modes of delivering telemedicine, such as by phone (36% of large firms and 30% of small firms; and expanding the settings or locations where covered persons may use telemedicine (28% of large firms and 22% of small firms). Some employers eliminated or reduced cost-sharing for telemedicine services (27% of large firms and 15% of small firms).