OPD Services Are Gaining More Limelight In Comparison To In-patient Expenses: Vaibhav Singh

What role do you think health-tech and insure-tech companies are playing in integrating technological advancements to accelerate employee/corporate health and wellness programs?

In the post-pandemic world, businesses are actively investigating technology solutions as critical components of developing a comprehensive employee wellness strategy. They understand that the right wellness programme can boost individual performance, foster resilience, address mental and physical health issues, and increase job satisfaction. Well-being programmes that are properly designed can supplement efforts to create a strong employee experience by providing employees with a sense of belonging and understanding, resulting in improved organisational performance. New age healthtech platforms are harnessing the power of technology to customise apps and programs right at the employee level. Based on the benefits structure, these healthtech platforms are using modular technology to design dashboards catering to the specific needs of the corporates and their employees.

What trends are you witnessing in the Employee health insurance segment?  

As we observe, the GDP spent on healthcare is 2-2.5 per cent vs 12-20 per cent in most developed nations, owing to which the private expenditure on healthcare in India has always been high, and only growing.

With increasing out-of-pocket spend on healthcare, there has been a constant and growing need for Health Insurance and Mediclaim policies, a change that we are now observing in the healthcare industry. Now the round table conversations are no longer confined to hospitalisation benefits. On top of it, the on-going pandemic has not only made people realise the need for Cashless Health Insurance / Mediclaim policies, but also made us all cognizant of the fact that Insurance (Secondary Care) needs to be tied up with Primary Care benefits like Doctor Tele-consultations, Diagnostics and Medicines - the chunk that we spend 62 per cent of our out-of-pocket expenses on. Be it corporates, end employees or retail users; all have realised the importance and need of OPD/Primary Healthcare coverage. 

As far as the employee benefits are concerned, traditionally, they were synonymous with GMC / hospitalisation insurance only. Then came the trend of wellness, and now with growing demand and the need for holistic coverage plans, a lot of corporate players across sectors are providing insurance-backed OPD benefits to their employees in addition to the Group Health Insurance. Even where it's not provided by the corporate for all employees as a sponsored benefit, we are seeing OPD as the most popular top-up among employees.  

This trend which is rapidly picking up the pace is only expected to rise from hereon and we believe that more corporates in India will soon follow the suit. 

Furthermore, Health Insurance schemes are becoming fully cashless and more focused with options for senior citizens, maternity care, children's illness, critical illness, etc. Private players are definitely bringing innovation and new health products in the market in the form of API integrations, tracking health through wearables and mobile tech, using AI and data science for predicting customers health and in fact providing wellness benefits to the employees to improve their daily health. 

Clearly these trends are contributing towards a sustainable ecosystem and being in this industry, Visit Health has been committed towards building the relevant infrastructure, network and technology and will continue to do so for years to come to support the trends.  

Do you think health benefits should be mandatorily given to an employee, if yes why? 

Companies that provide health benefits to employees are successful in building a team of people who are more productive and more involved in the day to day activities of the organisation. Employees who are healthy and happy tend to be more productive than those who are not. It's a win-win situation because it results in numerous benefits for the company. Wellness programmes not only boost productivity but also increase engagement, employee morale and retention, and reduce health risks. There is a positive relationship between employee wellness and business performance. A good employee wellness programme should address the emotional, physical, mental, and financial well-being of employees. So yes, health benefits should mandatorily be given to the employees. 

Do you think OPD claims are growing more than in-patient ones? 

COVID-19 has raised corporate India's awareness about the importance of health insurance. However, the emphasis has shifted from in-patient expenses to outpatient expenses such as regular medical check-ups, pharmacy benefits, and so on in order to encourage employees to maintain good health.

Currently, only about 10-12 per cent of Indians are covered by private health insurance policies. Reports suggest that   OPD expenses account for 62 percent of total healthcare costs in India, but traditional policies cover hospitalisation benefits only. Top-up policies available for OPD provide some discounts, but are not comprehensive to cover daily out-of-pocket medical expenses With the Covid threat still looming, OPD visits and costs are only expected to rise further.

With time and the growing uncertainty, employers have accepted the fact that health insurance does not end with having a cover just for hospitalisation expenses. From being a subsidiary focus, OPD services have now started gaining active prominence. Observing an underlying need for primary healthcare coverage and a need for a system that can bridge this gap and instead provide coverage to people right from the beginning, even before they get hospitalised; OPD services have started gaining more limelight in comparison to in-patient expenses. 

How is Visit health making a difference in the health tech and insure-tech space and what are your future plans? 

Employee wellness should be an organisations’ ultimate priority, as they contribute to the growth of an organisation. Traditionally, employee health policies meant hospitalisation benefits, but now, employee wellness is a broader term that includes mental wellness, fitness, nutrition, diagnostics, doctor appointments, etc. In light of this transition, Visit — an integrated HealthTech platform – bridges the enormous gap between primary and secondary care for employees by providing unlimited access packages to employees and their dependents. Visit has designed customised corporate solutions under OPD with cashless and reimbursement models, pre-employment and annual health check-ups, gym and studio memberships, comprehensive EAP, Telemedicine and wellness for employees. Being a high tech- driven platform, Visit provides 24x7 access to on-demand healthcare services to the underserved Indian populace.

As a holistic health benefits platform, Visit envisions to be a leader in the Primary care space. We are onboarding more doctors to expand our OPD, diagnostic and health check-up network and aim to be the go-to service provider in Digital Health and Primary Care in India. Visit Should be as synonymous to health & wellness as Myntra as a fashion marketplace or Netflix for OTT Content. On the technology front, Visit continues to focus on upgrading tech integration and solutions for all stakeholders’ seamless care journey. Additionally, it plans to improve its gamification process, multifaceted with a new, more engaging and exclusive rewards system.