Governor announces free virtual doctor visits for state employees

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) - South Carolina state employees with the state health insurance plan can now see a doctor for free.

MUSC and the Public Employee Benefit Authority have partnered to offer free virtual urgent care to state employees and their dependents.

More than 550,000 South Carolina employees and their families are now able to communicate with MUSC physicians from work or home.

State employees can receive care through the website www.musc.care.

Members can submit questions, phone calls, or videos on the website.

Gov. Henry McMaster met with representatives from MUSC Health and SC PEBA today at the Statehouse.

“This is another innovative tool to keep people healthy and address health issues earlier than they might otherwise," McMaster said.

No appointments are needed and MUSC professionals are available 24 hours a day and seven days a week.

“We know how hard it can be to take time away from work to address urgent health issues, and when care is hard to access, takes too long or is too expensive, a patient may wait to address an issue until its much worse or harder to deal with,” MUSC Health CEO and Vice President of Health Affairs Dr. Patrick J. Cawley said.

Wait times with physicians for the virtual visits average about four minutes and most visits take less than 15 minutes to complete.

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