New challenges emerge for healthcare payers in COVID-19 era

As the world starts to open up gradually, healthcare payers are trying to get a grip on a new set of challenges that have risen due to the pandemic. 

As we continue to emerge from the pandemic, healthcare payers could be overwhelmed with a variety of challenges including higher claim submissions for routine and non-emergency services potentially leading to a bottleneck. Not to forget, healthcare compensations will see a consistent rise as the pandemic continues to dominate. 

Healthcare Payers will also have to take into consideration that the pandemic has had huge emotional implications. A swift turnaround would go a long way in boosting customer morale. There may be instances when members may not quite to be in line with all mandatory protocols but payers will have to step up their game to ensure that they need all the support possible. 

Healthcare Payers will also have to make an extra effort to integrate telehealth and remote working into the regular workflow. Traditionally, healthcare payers have been cautious about covering telehealth. However, COVID-19 has made it clear that several clinical conditions could be diagnosed and treated virtually. Having experienced the success of virtual medical consultations, patients as well as medical professional are beginning to embrace it and are far more open to adapting it as a practice despites lockdown restrictions being lifted. This also calls for a relook at legislations that can make accessing virtual care across geographical boundaries possible. In most cases, payers are not allowed to operate across state lines but the pandemic has ensured that the scope for virtual healthcare in broadened significantly. 

For healthcare payers, this is an opportune time to invest in improved communication. Creating an effective mechanism for accurate and timely information sharing will help in winning the trust of stakeholders. 

To summarize, given the dynamic nature of the pandemic, healthcare payers need to keep evolving in order to not just offer best possible services but to thrive despite the challenges. 

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