As the costs stemming from COVID-19 continue to climb, reinsurers are collaborating with healthcare executives on how to mitigate the impacts of the virus on the sector. Virtual health care options are becoming increasingly commonplace, and the growing use of telemedicine and capacity constraints within our healthcare system will potentially dull utilization increases.

Although the world is increasingly digital, healthcare is not. Healthcare is a predominantly encounter-based (and physical) care model – or at least that was the case before COVID-19 began, according to Oliver Wyman Health & Life Sciences colleagues Kitty Lee, Partner, Matt Zafra, Principal and Justin Bay, Senior Consultant. Oliver Wyman is an affiliate of Guy Carpenter.

The pandemic means digital health is no longer on the fringe, now increasingly a mainstream offering. While key services such as telemedicine and online drug delivery services may have initially been short-term replacement options while traditional services were closed to the general public over various lockdown periods, the added benefits of better value, convenience, and data that in effect afford some staying power. Emerging applications, such as digital therapeutics and digital phenotyping, also saw traction during this period.

In April, Oliver Wyman considered how digital health had quickly become the norm in China. Now, let’s consider the opportunity for Singapore based on our new research. During the pandemic, Oliver Wyman released the Health on Demand survey, a collaboration with affiliates Mercer Marsh Benefits (MMB) and Mercer. This survey was designed to help assess digital health readiness globally. It reflects a pre-crisis snapshot of sentiments, likely further reinforced as a result of the ongoing global crisis. Here are some opportunities this creates for the health industry at large – from public health, to providers, to payers, and other stakeholders.

Guy Carpenter has been developing a view of how COVID-19 may impact the medical (re)insurance market.

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