Telehealth use rose 2.7% nationally in April but fell in 3 US regions

Though telehealth utilization increased nationally in April 2024, it decreased in three of four United States census regions, new FAIR Health data reveals.

FAIR Health has published data from its Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker for April. The tracker shows monthly telehealth utilization changes nationwide. The data represents the privately insured population, excluding Medicare Fee-for-Service, Medicare Advantage, and Medicaid beneficiaries.

According to the latest data, telehealth claim lines rose from 4.73 percent of medical claim lines in March to 4.86 percent in April nationally, an increase of 2.7 percent.

In the South, telehealth utilization increased, growing from 3.48 percent of medical claim lines in March to 3.73 percent in April, a 7.2 percent jump. However, telehealth usage decreased in the other three census regions. In the Midwest, the share of medical claim lines representing telehealth visits fell 0.4 percent; in the Northeast, it fell 3.0 percent; and in the West, it fell 3.3 percent.

In April 2024, the 31- to 40-year-old age group accounted for the largest share of telehealth claim lines nationally and in the South and West, while the 19- to 30-year-old age group accounted for the largest share in the Midwest and Northeast.

The data shows that mental health conditions remained the top-ranking diagnostic category for telehealth nationally and in every region from March to April. Mental health conditions accounted for 68.9 percent of telehealth claim lines nationally, followed by acute respiratory diseases and infections (1.9 percent). The remaining three in the top five rankings were endocrine and metabolic disorders, developmental disorders, and encounter for examination, each accounting for 1.5 percent of telehealth claim lines.

However, nationally and in every US census region, the share of telehealth claim lines for acute respiratory diseases and infections fell from March to April. This diagnostic category also declined from third to fifth place in the Midwest, second to fifth place in the Northeast, and fourth to fifth place in the West.

Among mental health diagnoses, generalized anxiety disorder accounted for 34.7 percent of telehealth claim lines, major depressive disorder 21.6 percent, adjustment disorders 16.3 percent, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder 9.1 percent, and post-traumatic stress disorder 5.6 percent.

From March to April 2024, social workers remained the top telehealth users nationally and in all regions. However, family practice physicians fell from second to fourth place on the top five telehealth provider specialties list, while psychiatrists rose from third to second place.

Further, the national median telehealth visit cost was $55, while the office visit cost was $53 in April. However, costs in the Northeast outstripped these figures, with the median telehealth cost totaling $65 and the office cost totaling $60.

The data comes as lawmakers debate whether to make permanent regulatory flexibilities that expanded telehealth access during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Currently, numerous flexibilities — including eliminating geographic restrictions on originating sites for telehealth services and allowing federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and rural health centers (RHCs) to continue providing telehealth services — are set to expire at the end of 2024.

Several lawmakers have introduced legislation to make these flexibilities permanent. For example, two bills were introduced in the US House of Representatives in May that would permanently allow FQHCs and rural health clinics RHCs to provide telehealth services and permanently expand the list of healthcare practitioners eligible to provide telehealth services.

Additionally, 200 virtual care stakeholders asked for action on telehealth regulations early in the year so that more time could be spent implementing new policies before the waivers expire.

Though the future of the flexibilities is still uncertain, recent House committee actions indicate that they will be extended beyond 2024. The House Ways and Means Committee advanced several new pieces of legislation in May, including the Preserving Telehealth, Hospital, and Ambulance Access Act.

The act would preserve Medicare beneficiaries’ access to telehealth through December 31, 2026, and extend the Acute Hospital Care at Home (AHCAH) waiver through 2029.