This year, discover how telehealth can lower employer healthcare costs, improve employee care, and why self and level-funded strategies maximize its impact.
Table of Contents
- Telehealth Awareness Week: A Turning Point for Employer Healthcare Costs
- Why Reducing Healthcare Costs Is a Top Priority
- The Outcome Advantage: Better Employee Health Through Telehealth
- Financial Impact: Measurable Employer Savings
- Funding Strategy Matters: Level Funded vs Fully Insured
- Trinity’s Telehealth Advantage
- Why Now Is the Time to Act
- Meet Trinity’s Telehealth Service
- Key Takeaways
Telehealth Awareness Week: A Turning Point for Employer Healthcare Costs
Every September, Telehealth Awareness Week shines a national spotlight on the growing role of virtual care in today’s healthcare system. For employers, it is more than just a moment on the calendar. It is a timely reminder that the way employees access care directly impacts both outcomes and costs.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 37% of U.S. adults used telemedicine in 2021¹, proving that virtual care is no longer a niche benefit but a mainstream expectation. This rising adoption highlights an important opportunity: employers who integrate telehealth into their benefits strategy can unlock measurable savings while improving employee satisfaction.
As conversations about healthcare innovation take center stage during Telehealth Awareness Week, there is no better time for HR leaders, CFOs, and business owners to ask a critical question: How can telehealth help reduce employer healthcare costs and strengthen workforce health in the year ahead?
Why Reducing Healthcare Costs Is a Top Priority
Healthcare expenses are rising faster than most company budgets. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), the average employer-sponsored family health insurance premium reached $23,968 in 2023², marking a 7% increase from the year before. For HR leaders and CFOs, this steady climb represents more than just higher premiums. It directly affects hiring strategies, long-term budgeting, and the ability to offer competitive benefits.
This is why reducing healthcare costs has become a top priority for organizations of all sizes. Employers are searching for sustainable, high-value strategies that protect their workforce while also managing financial risk. Telehealth offers one of the clearest paths forward, helping companies control rising expenses while improving access to quality care.
The Outcome Advantage: Better Employee Health Through Telehealth
Improved health outcomes are one of the strongest arguments for expanding telehealth. When employees have faster and easier access to care, they are more likely to address health concerns early, manage chronic conditions consistently, and avoid costly hospital visits.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) found that tele-emergency care reduced in-person emergency department visits by nearly 50% and cut community ED spending by about $248 per visit³. This demonstrates the direct link between virtual access and measurable savings.
For employers, the benefits are twofold. Healthier employees mean fewer absences, higher productivity, and greater overall job satisfaction. At the same time, fewer high-cost emergency visits translate into lower claims expenses, helping organizations better control healthcare spending year over year.
Financial Impact: Measurable Employer Savings
Telehealth is not only about convenience. It is also a proven way to reduce unnecessary spending. Research published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine estimates that 8.8% of emergency department visits could be managed through telehealth⁴ instead of in-person care. Each redirected visit represents a significant savings opportunity for both employees and employers.
For organizations, fewer high-cost emergency claims directly translate into lower employer healthcare costs. These savings can be reinvested into benefits programs, wellness initiatives, or broader business priorities. By reducing avoidable claims, telehealth becomes a strategic tool for HR leaders and CFOs who are under pressure to manage budgets without sacrificing the quality of employee care.
Funding Strategy Matters: Level Funded vs Fully Insured
How employers structure their health plans determines who benefits most from telehealth savings. In a fully insured plan, the insurance carrier absorbs the financial gains when claims are reduced. Employers pay the same fixed premium regardless of utilization, which limits both transparency and control.
By contrast, self and level-funded models give employers greater visibility into claims and direct access to savings when healthcare utilization decreases. This means that when employees choose telehealth instead of more expensive in-person visits, the employer, not the carrier, retains the financial benefit.
For HR leaders, CFOs, and brokers, this funding approach offers more than flexibility. It creates a pathway to capture measurable telehealth savings, align plan performance with organizational goals, and reinvest those dollars into competitive benefits that attract and retain top talent. Trinity’s self-funded and level-funded solutions are designed to deliver exactly this kind of control and value.
Trinity’s Telehealth Advantage
At Trinity Marketing Services, telehealth is more than an optional add-on. It is built into the way we design benefits for employers who want both cost savings and better employee health outcomes. By including virtual care as part of our self-funded and level-funded solutions, employers gain access to a service that is convenient, effective, and financially strategic.
Employees can connect with providers 24/7 for urgent care, primary care, mental health support, dermatology, and chronic condition management. This wide range of services ensures that care is accessible whenever and wherever it is needed, reducing the likelihood of costly emergency room visits.
Trinity also emphasizes a concierge-style experience to drive engagement and adoption. When employees actually use telehealth, employers see higher satisfaction and lower claims costs. By fully integrating telehealth into our funding models, Trinity helps organizations retain the savings generated from reduced utilization—while creating a benefits package that positions them as forward-thinking and employee-focused.
Why Now Is the Time to Act
Every September, Telehealth Awareness Week amplifies the national conversation on the role of virtual care in expanding access and improving outcomes. The event, organized by the American Telemedicine Association, highlights how telehealth has become an essential component of modern healthcare delivery.
For HR leaders, CFOs, and benefits brokers, this spotlight creates a strategic moment to act. Ahead of the next plan year, employers can:
- Align budgets and benefits strategy with healthcare innovation trends
- Evaluate cost-saving opportunities through virtual care adoption
- Strengthen employee communications by positioning telehealth as a forward-thinking benefit
By connecting benefits planning with a nationally recognized event, organizations demonstrate leadership while seizing the momentum to reduce costs and improve workforce health.
Meet Trinity’s Telehealth Service
The national spotlight on virtual care during Telehealth Awareness Week makes now the right time to evaluate how telehealth can fit into your benefits strategy. For HR leaders, CFOs, and brokers, the opportunity is clear: lower claims, healthier employees, and stronger long-term cost control.
Trinity offers funding models that integrate telehealth directly into your benefits, ensuring that your organization, not the carrier, retains the savings.
Talk to an expert today and gain:
- A customized cost-savings forecast tailored to your organization
- Clear insights on telehealth’s impact on claims and costs
- Strategic recommendations for self-funded and level-funded models
This Telehealth Awareness Week, position your organization ahead of the curve. Start the conversation now and lead with benefits that reduce costs while improving workforce health.
Key Takeaways
- Employer healthcare costs are rising, with premiums averaging $23,968 in 2023 . Telehealth offers a proven way to manage expenses.
- Telehealth improves outcomes, reducing emergency visits by nearly 50% in VA studies, which leads to healthier employees and fewer claims.
- 8.8% of ER visits could be managed virtually (Annals of Emergency Medicine), translating into direct savings for employers.
- Level funded vs fully insured models matter: only self and level-funded employers capture the full savings from reduced claims.
- Trinity integrates telehealth into its funding solutions, combining modern care access with measurable cost control.
- Telehealth Awareness Week creates urgency, making now the ideal time to review benefits strategies.
- Employers can take the next step by choosing to Talk to an Expert at Trinity for a customized cost-savings strategy.
