MSU Health Care, Everside Health Affiliate for Lower-cost Virtual Primary Care

The partners say their collaboration addresses Michigan employers' concerns about rising healthcare costs and barriers to care quality.

Everside Health and Michigan State University Health Care have created a partnership to provide employer-sponsored plans with access to direct and virtual primary care across the state.

Under the model, employers and other plan sponsors pay a fixed cost per employee for nearly 24/7 unlimited access to primary care providers. MSU and Everside say their model is not a replacement for employer-sponsored insurance, but rather a complementary wellness program.

Patients will have low- or no-cost access to physicians and 24/7 virtual care, reducing the need for costly ER use.  Everside says that employers using its care model save 20% on average in claims costs each year because the model proactively treats health problems before they become dire and require care at more expensive venues such as urgent care clinics and emergency departments. 

This affiliation marks the first time that Denver-based Everside has partnered with a medical school.

Seth Ciabotti, CEO for East Lansing-based MSU Health Care, called the affiliation "another example of working with like-minded organizations to fulfill our mission to improve the health of all communities in Michigan."

"The pandemic highlighted the need for every individual to have a medical home supported by a robust relationship with a primary care team for maintaining health," Ciabotti said. "Telehealth visits proved to be a viable delivery mechanism for increasing access to healthcare in rural and underserved areas in Michigan."

Everside CEO Chris Miller said that, until the affiliation with MSU Health Care, employers in Michigan had few healthcare delivery options. "They had to rely on solutions created by large insurance companies or health systems," he said.

"Our new partnership with MSU Health Care is designed to change the status quo in employers' favor by bringing together our proven direct primary care model and advanced technology with MSU's strong innovation and research capabilities," Miller said. "The result is expected to be measurable cost savings with improved access to quality care."