SAVING CENTSABLY: Four reasons Teladoc leads to savings
As I begin my article, let me explain that our family has very good health insurance. Although we pay the premium (and it's steep), we enjoy the benefits of being deductible-free and having the ability to choose our doctors without much wrangling and needing approvals.
However, despite having good health insurance, copays can still be difficult to meet. With the cost of procedures as high as they are, even a 20-percent copay can still really ding the budget! With six people in our family, it does not take much to rack up quite a bit of medical debt.
With our re-enrollment in an insurance plan this fall, we received enrollment in a new program, something called Teladoc. While we have yet to use this program, let me explain what it is offering and why I think it might be a service we might use.
First, the program offers a phone consultation with a doctor for minor issues such as allergies, rashes, colds and possibly, the flu. You know most of us have taken pictures of a rash and sent them to some nurse friend -- or we've called a doctor friend for a diagnosis over the phone.
In essence, I think this program is really similar -- you're just not having a consultation with a friend. The program charges $15 per consultation. I am not sure how that gets paid, but I would assume using a credit card or debit card over the phone would be the way to go.
I know for many people, this would raise some alarm, but truthfully, we hand our debit and credit cards to people all the time just hoping that they will be honest with the information.
Second, one reason I might consider using the Teladoc program is to save on the copay required when I go to a doctor's office. Our copays are only $20 per visit for a "regular" physician -- someone who we would see for minor issues such as allergies, a cold or a rash. I could save $5 per visit by using this type of over-the-phone doctor.
Another savings comes in the driving. I don't know how close you live to your doctors, but for our family, a visit to a primary care physician is a 20-mile round trip. When gas is $3 per gallon, that brings my monetary savings to $8 each time I use the Teladoc system.
The third reason I am looking forward to using the Teladoc system will seem funny to most people. However, when we go to the doctor's office, I am always worried we will leave there with more germs than those with that we came. We use copious amounts of antibacterial solutions while we are there.
Despite a "well" and "sick" waiting room, the fact that the examination rooms are the same no matter why you have come to visit the doctor exposes my family to all sorts of germs. If I can dial up a doctor and show pictures of the rash my son has or let him hear the cough my daughter has, I will be happy to do so.
My final reason for being intrigued about the Teladoc program is the possibility of the time we can save by using the program. Once I load up my kids, drive to the doctor, sit in the waiting room, sit in the exam room and then drive home, even a routine trip can take two hours. Time is valuable, and I like the idea of a quick phone call to help diagnose minor things for our family.
I'm interested to see if any of you have ever used a program like this. Feel free to email me!
Contact writer Rachael Mercer at savingcentsably@gmail.com.
This story was originally published December 1, 2015 at 9:46 PM with the headline "SAVING CENTSABLY: Four reasons Teladoc leads to savings ."