Mental Health Conditions, the Top-Ranking Telehealth Diagnosis, Rose Nationally in Share of Telehealth Claim Lines in March 2023, the Third Straight Month of National Increases

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Jun 05, 2023, 08:34 ET

Telehealth Utilization Increased Nationally by Nearly Two Percent in March 2023

In the Northeast, Mental Health Conditions Replaced Hypertension in First Place among Asynchronous Telehealth Diagnoses, according to FAIR Health's Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker

NEW YORK, June 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- National telehealth utilization increased 1.8 percent in March 2023, from 5.5 percent of medical claim lines in February to 5.6 percent in March, according to FAIR Health's Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker.¹ The increase followed a decline in February 2023. In March, telehealth utilization also increased in two of the four US census regions—the Midwest (2.4 percent) and the West (2.6 percent). The other regions stayed level, with zero percent change in the Northeast and the South. The data represent the privately insured population, including Medicare Advantage and excluding Medicare Fee-for-Service and Medicaid.

Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker, March 2023

Top Five Telehealth Diagnoses

The top five telehealth diagnoses remained the same in March 2023 as in February 2023 nationally and in the Midwest, Northeast and West. In the South, urinary tract infections entered the rankings in fifth place; hypertension rose from fifth place to third place; and encounter for examination, previously in third place, fell off the list entirely.

In March, mental health conditions, the top-ranking diagnosis nationally and in every region, rose from 66.7 percent of telehealth claim lines nationally in February to 67.4 percent in March—the third straight month of national increases.

The percentage of telehealth claim lines for the second-place diagnosis, acute respiratory diseases and infections, decreased nationally in March, falling from 3.5 percent in February to 3.2 percent in March. This was the third consecutive national monthly decrease for this diagnosis.

Asynchronous Telehealth

In March 2023, among the top five diagnoses via asynchronous telehealth,² hypertension continued to rank second nationally and in the West, fourth in the South and first in the Midwest, as it had in February. In the Northeast, hypertension dropped from first place in February to second place in March and was replaced by mental health conditions, which moved up from second place in February to first in March.

In March, sleep disorders entered the rankings in the Northeast at number five, replacing urinary tract infections. Sleep disorders increased in percentage of asynchronous telehealth claim lines in the Midwest, climbing from number five to number four in the rankings.

Audio-Only Telehealth Usage

In March 2023, utilization of audio-only telehealth services decreased in rural and urban areas in the Midwest. It also decreased in the Northeast and nationally but only in rural areas, while it stayed level in urban areas. By contrast, in the West, utilization decreased in urban areas but remained the same in rural areas. In the South, audio-only telehealth utilization increased in urban areas and remained level in rural areas.

Similar to February, utilization of audio-only telehealth services was generally higher in March in rural areas than urban areas, except in the South, where audio-only telehealth services accounted for 10.5 percent of telehealth claim lines in urban areas compared to 5.5 percent in rural areas.

Telehealth Cost Corner

For March 2023, the Telehealth Cost Corner spotlighted the cost of CPT^®3 98960, education and training for patient self-management, each 30 minutes. Nationally, the median charge amount for this service when rendered via telehealth was $49.66, and the median allowed amount was $22.81.⁴

About the Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker

Launched in May 2020 as a free service, the Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker uses FAIR Health data to track how telehealth is evolving from month to month. An interactive map of the four US census regions allows the user to view an infographic on telehealth in a specific month in the nation as a whole or in individual regions. Each infographic shows month-to-month changes in volume of telehealth claim lines and audio-only telehealth usage (urban versus rural); the Telehealth Cost Corner, which presents a specific telehealth procedure code with its median charge amount and median allowed amount; and that month's top five telehealth diagnoses and top five diagnoses via asynchronous telehealth.

FAIR Health President Robin Gelburd stated: "We welcome sharing these varying windows into telehealth utilization as it continues to evolve. This is one of the many ways we pursue our healthcare transparency mission."

For the Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker, click here.

About FAIR Health

FAIR Health is a national, independent nonprofit organization that qualifies as a public charity under section 501(c)(3) of the federal tax code. It is dedicated to bringing transparency to healthcare costs and health insurance information through data products, consumer resources and health systems research support. FAIR Health possesses the nation's largest collection of private healthcare claims data, which includes over 41 billion claim records and is growing at a rate of over 2 billion claim records a year. FAIR Health licenses its privately billed data and data products—including benchmark modules, data visualizations, custom analytics and market indices—to commercial insurers and self-insurers, employers, providers, hospitals and healthcare systems, government agencies, researchers and others. Certified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as a national Qualified Entity, FAIR Health also receives data representing the experience of all individuals enrolled in traditional Medicare Parts A, B and D; FAIR Health includes among the private claims data in its database, data on Medicare Advantage enrollees. FAIR Health can produce insightful analytic reports and data products based on combined Medicare and commercial claims data for government, providers, payors and other authorized users. FAIR Health's systems for processing and storing protected health information have earned HITRUST CSF certification and achieved AICPA SOC 2 Type 2 compliance by meeting the rigorous data security requirements of these standards. As a testament to the reliability and objectivity of FAIR Health data, the data have been incorporated in statutes and regulations around the country and designated as the official, neutral data source for a variety of state health programs, including workers' compensation and personal injury protection (PIP) programs. FAIR Health data serve as an official reference point in support of certain state balance billing laws that protect consumers against bills for surprise out-of-network and emergency services. FAIR Health also uses its database to power a free consumer website available in English and Spanish, which enables consumers to estimate and plan for their healthcare expenditures and offers a rich educational platform on health insurance. An English/Spanish mobile app offers the same educational platform in a concise format and links to the cost estimation tools. The website has been honored by the White House Summit on Smart Disclosure, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), URAC, the eHealthcare Leadership Awards, appPicker, Employee Benefit News and Kiplinger's Personal Finance. FAIR Health also is named a top resource for patients in Dr. Elisabeth Rosenthal's book An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back. For more information on FAIR Health, visit fairhealth.org.

Contact:
Rachel Kent
Senior Director of Communications and Marketing
FAIR Health
646-396-0795
[email protected]

¹ A claim line is an individual service or procedure listed on an insurance claim.

² Asynchronous telehealth is telehealth in which data are stored and forwarded (e.g., blood pressure or other cardiac-related readings transmitted electronically; A1c levels transmitted electronically).

⁴ A charge amount is the provider's undiscounted fee, which a patient may have to pay when the patient is uninsured, or when the patient chooses to go to a provider who does not belong to the patient's plan's network. An allowed amount is the total fee paid to the provider under an insurance plan. It includes the amount that the health plan pays and the part the patient pays under the plan's in-network cost-sharing provisions (e.g., copay or coinsurance if the patient has met the deductible).

SOURCE FAIR Health