MD Live (Evernorth)

MD Live: 24/7 telemedicine with board-certified doctors

MD Live, an Evernorth company, provides medical and mental health care remotely by phone or video. Its national network is made up of board-certified doctors, pediatricians, dermatologists, psychiatrists, and licensed therapists, with an average experience of more than ten years. The company presents itself as an alternative for receiving care without travel or waiting rooms, during nighttime, after hours, weekends, and holidays.

Available services

The platform organizes its offering into several areas of care:

• Urgent Care: care for more than 80 common non-emergency conditions, such as flu, sinus infections, pink eye, ear pain, and UTIs (females 18 and older).
• Primary Care: for adults 18 and older, with wellness screenings and management of conditions such as type 2 diabetes, asthma, and high blood pressure.
• Mental Health: talk therapy and psychiatry with certified therapists and psychiatrists, by appointment.
• Dermatology: care for non-urgent skin, hair, and nail conditions.
• E-Treatment: for certain urgent conditions that do not require a live visit with a doctor.

Conditions treated

MD Live's catalog covers hundreds of medical and mental health needs. Urgent Care includes allergies, back and joint pain, birth control, cold and flu, cough, COVID-19, diarrhea, ear pain, erectile dysfunction, fatigue, hair loss, headache, insect bites, medication refills, pink eye, rash, sinus problems, sleep issues, sore throat, UTIs, and yeast infections, among others.

Primary Care includes wellness screenings, routine care, asthma, type 2 diabetes, hair loss, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, prediabetes, sexually transmitted infections, and thyroid issues. Mental health treats addictions, aging and caregiver support, anxiety, bipolar disorder, depression, grief and loss, LGBTQ+ support, life changes, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorders, parenting support, phobias, relationship issues, seasonal affective disorder, stress management, and trauma or PTSD. Dermatology treats acne, alopecia, boils, cold sores, cysts, dermatitis, eczema, folliculitis, fungal skin infections, hives, keratosis, rosacea, skin pigmentation disorders, suspicious spots and moles, and warts.

Pricing and coverage

The website shows price ranges by service: Urgent Care between $0 and $89; Primary Care from $0 for select health insurance plans; mental health between $0 and $179 for talk therapy and between $0 and $299 for psychiatry; and dermatology between $0 and $95. The company states that prices are shown upfront and that it accepts many major health insurance plans, although not all plans cover all services. Follow-up therapy appointments cost $140 before insurance, and psychiatry follow-ups cost $159 before insurance.

Provider network and quality

MD Live states that all of its doctors are board-certified and state-licensed, with an average of 15 years of experience, and that they are specifically trained in telemedicine. The company holds two National Committee for Quality Assurance certifications and is accredited by the American Telemedicine Association. According to its presentation, 9 out of 10 people would recommend the service to friends and family, and the company highlights one of the industry's highest Net Promoter Scores.

How it works and access

The process is summarized in three steps: create an account, request the visit, and talk to a doctor. The account is free and can be created immediately. For medical care for illness or injury, the user can choose to see the first available doctor or make an appointment with a specific provider based on the available profiles. In mental health, all appointments are scheduled in advance with the selected therapist or psychiatrist, and the user can keep the same provider or switch at any time. In primary care, it is also possible to see the same doctor for each appointment.

Limitations and conditions not treated

MD Live is not intended for medical or mental health emergencies; in the event of a potentially life-threatening emergency, the company advises calling 911. Conditions that require an in-person evaluation are not treated, such as gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV, or hepatitis C, and doctors may determine that certain sexually transmitted conditions cannot be treated through telemedicine. Hair loss that requires an in-person evaluation is also not treated. Treatment for erectile dysfunction is not permitted through telemedicine in North Dakota. Anti-obesity medications (e.g., Zepbound, Wegovy, Saxenda, or Contrave) are available at the doctor's discretion, except in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and New Jersey, and only through a routine Primary Care visit. Doctors can prescribe the antiviral Paxlovid for adults 18 and older with COVID-19 when medically appropriate, but they cannot prescribe Molnupiravir or other medications for COVID-19. Primary Care is for adults 18 and older.