Neel Ghoshal was 13 years old when his life changed. 

Born in 1978 to Sam and Pritha Ghoshal, who immigrated from India eight years prior in pursuit of the American dream, Neel grew up in the Northeast.

There were moments of struggle but life was good in the New York City area, where his father worked at the World Trade Center. 

In November 1991, Ghoshal’s mother went back to India to visit her father. She never made it home. 

His mother had been managing a kidney issue, Ghoshal said, but a disconnect between doctors and a lack of access to health care led to a misdiagnosis. For reasons unbeknownst to him, the family and doctors in India did not contact medical professionals back in the United States. She died a few weeks later in 1992. 

Ghoshal recalls feeling angry at the systems that were designed to protect people like his mother. 

“There was no reason she had to pass,” he said. “She did because of this lack of access.” 

Though he has worked in multiple industries during his professional career, Ghoshal’s desire to help fill the gaps in the health care system has always stuck with him. That, plus a family connection to the hospitality industry, is driving his new business venture, Healthpitality. 

The memory of his mother is directly tied to the “why” behind Healthpitality, Ghoshal said. Many U.S. citizens, including the majority of hospitality workers, struggle to access affordable health care. For those who do have traditional health care, long wait times and pricey copays can make it hard to see a primary care physician regularly. 

Set to launch in January, Healthpitality is being marketed as a membership-based alternative to traditional health insurance. It will rely heavily on telehealth services to treat the many hospitality employees — more than 50 percent nationally — who do not receive health insurance from the restaurant or hotel that employs them. At Healthpitality, Ghoshal wants to create an environment where members of the hospitality industry “are partners in their care and are treated with the same VIP treatment that they provide for their guests night after night.” 

Hospitality industry workers can become Healthpitality members individually, but Ghoshal envisions restaurants making this membership an employee benefit. The monthly subscription will cost employers $38 to $55 dollars per month per employee, plus a $250 onboarding fee, and includes unlimited telehealth visits. 

Restaurants will be billed monthly per employee, meaning restaurants will not be left with footing the bill of someone who leaves the staff, Ghoshal said. On the flip side, workers will not be dropped when they switch jobs. 

Subscriptions for individual employees purchasing their own Healthpitality package are $65 per month. Hospitality workers who want to sign up individually will be asked to provide proof of employment, such as a recent paycheck. 

‘Telehealth first’ 

Ghoshal, who moved to Charleston in 2018, describes Healthpitality as a “virtual-first” health care provider. His experience with telehealth includes working as a consultant for Doxy.me, a telemedicine business that got its start as a tool for health care providers to bring prenatal care to women who normally would have to travel long distances for well-checks and weigh-ins. 

Though he understands the benefits of telehealth, Ghoshal also recognizes that it cannot cover every health care need. It simply is not possible to do every type of visit remotely, meaning Healthpitality members will still have to schedule appointments for imaging tests, blood work and other visits that require in-person interaction. 

In-person visits, recommended by the doctors and nurse practitioners employed by Healthpitality, will incur an out-of-pocket expense for either the restaurant or the employee. 

“Our providers are adept at leveraging telehealth’s best practices to serve our members. However, when necessary, they are also skilled at identifying situations where in-person care is essential, and will accordingly refer members to external providers,” Ghoshal said.

Telemedicine has been more widely adopted since the pandemic, said Medical University of South Carolina Director of Primary Care Telemedicine Dr. Marty Player. It has been especially effective in treating mental health disorders, Player said. 

Telemedicine’s limitations include the inability to conduct testing and exams that must be done in person. South Carolina law also prohibits doctors from prescribing certain “controlled” medications without establishing care with a patient in person. 

Early research prior to the pandemic suggested that telemedicine provided more access to people who already had access to health care, Player said. Developments in the field suggest that, moving forward, telemedicine could increase access for more vulnerable populations, he said. 

“Access to primary care is still limited in this country in general,” Player said. “I think there’s a benefit to having the telehealth option.” 

Healthpitality currently has six employees and plans to have three doctors and six to nine nurse practitioners by its January launch in South Carolina and Florida. The primary focus at the onset will be on acute care. As Healthpitality sees a growth in demand, the plan is to broaden services to encompass primary care and preventive medicine, said Ghoshal, whose brother is a certified master chef, a designation given by the American Culinary Federation. 

The eventual goal is to create a “comprehensive health and wellness ecosystem” where members can manage most of their health needs. They will do so by working with Healthpitality’s concierge team, who will be trained to understand the realities of working in the restaurant industry. 

“Their deep understanding of the unique challenges faced by those in hospitality ensures that every interaction is not only helpful, but also empathetic and tailored,” Ghoshal said. 

Ambitious future goals include the creation of “healthpitals,” units that would bring health care services directly to members for seasonal needs like flu shots and physical exams. The overarching goal, Ghoshal said, is to make health care accessible and convenient for all Healthpitality members. 

For more information, visit healthpitality.life.