What You Should Know:
– Publicly traded logistics company ArcBest announced its deal with Doctor On Demand to introduce its virtual-first health plan to its 13,000 employees, who are largely “essential workers” as long-haul truckers.
– Employees appreciated the convenience and safety of 24/7 virtual care – from their homes, from the road – and ArcBest is now doubling down on virtual care for 2021 – and offering a holistic, virtual-first primary care health plan – one where patients see the same PCP time and time again virtually and can receive many of the same services virtually that they’d typically receive in-person.
Doctor On Demand, the nation’s leading virtual care provider, and ArcBest, a multibillion-dollar leader in supply chain logistics, announced a partnership to offer a new Virtual Primary Care health plan benefit to its employees and their dependents nationwide. The partnership expands on the existing urgent care and behavioral health services that Doctor On Demand has been providing to ArcBest since 2017.
Virtual Primary Care Benefit
ArcBest is getting creative in how they deliver healthcare benefits to their thousands of field employees – many of whom are on the road or reside in rural areas throughout the country. As the pandemic hit, it became increasingly difficult or unsafe to seek in-person medical or mental health care, so ArcBest promoted the use of its telemedicine offering of urgent care and mental healthcare.
The new Virtual Primary Care benefit will be available to all 8,000 members who are covered under ArcBest’s medical plan starting December 1st. This benefit comes at a critical time as COVID-19 cases are spiking again, and as the country simultaneously heads into cold and flu season. As a provider of essential freight and logistics services, ArcBest has a large field employee population that operates 24/7, making it challenging to access routine in-person care.
Virtual Primary Care Improves Access to Care
ArcBest believes that investing in this new virtual health plan upfront will have a major impact on employees’ health long term – promoting preventative healthcare and driving down long-term costs associated with employees waiting until their chronic back pain or chronic disease warrants more costly interventions.
“At ArcBest, we have a unique set of healthcare benefit needs, and Doctor On Demand’s existing urgent and behavioral health care services have been invaluable, especially this year,” said Rich Krutsch, Vice President, People Services at ArcBest. “The pandemic has also prompted us to double-down on our investments in virtual care, and we’re excited to expand our program with Doctor On Demand to include much more holistic, integrated virtual care for our employees.”
Employees Can Select Primary Care Doctor Through Doctor on Demand
Eligible ArcBest employees and their dependents will now be able to select a primary care provider through Doctor On Demand and access a comprehensive set of services to support whole-person health, including preventive wellness check-ups, vaccination referrals, nutrition consultations, chronic condition management, and more. Additionally, members are able to continue to see the same physician over time, allowing them to build a consistent, trusted relationship via video.
