I just read an article by Jonathan Manis titled, “There’ll be no ‘back to normal’ for healthcare after COVID-19 crisis.” As I delved into his article, I realized he’s right and got excited. Like really excited. Hear me out.

As an industry, we have been slow, we have been set in our ways, and we have been all about status quo. There are those in the industry, like Holmes Murphy, that have been challenging the industry for years — pushing the envelope with our carrier and hospital partners and encouraging our clients to think differently about their healthcare plan and how they finance it. Well, COVID-19 just accelerated those conversations and forced the industry to make much-needed changes.

One month ago, look at your stats for telemedicine. If you were in the norm, your stats were probably anemic to modest at best. Look at them now. They have probably gone up 100-150 percent overnight.

Think about how many of your employees used their Employee Assistance Program (EAP)  before all of this started — 3 percent, maybe 5 percent. I’m willing to bet those numbers are much higher now as well.

I share all of this to get you to start thinking about what healthcare could and should look like when this passes.

I know that is tough, because right now we are in the trenches. We are fighting to make it through another day with our health and businesses intact. We get it! Holmes Murphy is right there with you in that same fight.

However, Holmes Murphy is also working on forecasting the financial implications of COVID-19 for you. We are working with our partners to develop and evolve programs and services to better suit your needs post COVID-19. And, most importantly, Holmes Murphy is working daily to ensure you have access to the information you need to support your employees and business.