Christian Healthcare Ministries (CHM), a health cost-sharing ministry, has launched a three-year partnership with HealthTap to provide virtual primary and urgent care to CHM members, the organizations announced on Wednesday.
Barberton, Ohio-based CHM is a faith-based alternative to traditional health insurance. Members contribute monthly according to their selected plan, access discounted rates for medical services from their preferred doctors, and submit eligible bills for reimbursement. The organization has hundreds of thousands of members across the country.
Through the partnership with HealthTap, CHM members can pick one doctor on HealthTap’s platform for ongoing primary care. They can book same-day or same-week video appointments and receive 90 days of unlimited messaging with the physician after each visit.
Solving Healthcare’s Provider Data Problem Starts with Interoperability
Break down the silos. Take control of your provider data.
They can also access on-demand virtual urgent care, including on weekends and holidays.
Virtual primary and urgent care is included in the CHM Gold, Silver, Bronze and SeniorShare membership programs. Members can submit eligible medical bills to CHM for member sharing, but associated lab, testing or treatment costs aren’t included.
CHM chose to partner with HealthTap in order to expand access to primary care, said Lauren Gajdek, CHM vice president for communications.
“In addition to believing in the value of traditional telemedicine (virtual urgent care services), we also recognized the need for more accessibility to primary care through virtual solutions,” Gajdek said in an email. “CHM has members in all 50 states, and with some members living in rural areas, we felt that increasing access to primary care was even more important.”
A Path to Healing: Discovering Arizona’s PTSD Treatment Centers
Explore top PTSD treatment centers in Arizona, offering personalized care, holistic therapies and expert support to help individuals heal and reclaim their lives.
The partnership comes at a time when about 100 million Americans struggle accessing primary care. U.S. adults who regularly visit a primary care physician experience 33% lower healthcare costs and a 19% reduced risk of premature death compared to those who see only specialists, research shows.
HealthTap’s goal in working with CHM is to grow adoption in virtual primary care, said Sean Mehra, founder and CEO of the company.
“We’re now working slowly to educate not only CHM members, but this is part of a broader marketing effort on HealthTap to say, ‘Please start thinking about telehealth not just as the in-between option when you have other care, but really as a potential ongoing first stop for your care,’” Mehra said in an interview.
For CHM, the organization hopes to enroll as many members as possible into the HealthTap platform.
“By enrolling, members can build relationships with primary care doctors where such relationships may not have existed before, while also having urgent care readily available when needed,” Gajdek said. “These tools provide long-term healthcare cost savings for members through preventative care, and help achieve the best possible health outcomes for them and their families.”
Other companies that offer virtual primary care include Teladoc, Premise Health and Carbon Health.
Photo: elenabs, Getty Images