Telehealth Utilization Fell Nearly Four Percent Nationally in June 2022

COVID-19 Maintained Its Ranking in the Top Five Telehealth Diagnoses across the Nation, according to FAIR Health's Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker

NEW YORK, Sept. 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In June 2022, after two months of growth, national telehealth utilization fell 3.7 percent, from 5.4 percent of medical claim lines in May to 5.2 percent in June, according to FAIR Health's Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker.¹ Declines also occurred in the Northeast (4.8 percent) and South (2.4 percent), but there was an increase in telehealth utilization of 2.9 percent in the West and no change in the Midwest. The data represent the privately insured population, including Medicare Advantage and excluding Medicare Fee-for-Service and Medicaid.

Diagnoses
In June 2022, COVID-19 maintained the same ranking among the top five telehealth diagnoses that it held in May, both nationally and in every US census region. It ranked at number two nationally and in every region but the South, where it ranked at number three. This stability contrasted with the period from April to May, when COVID-19 climbed in the rankings nationally and in every region except the Northeast, where it remained stable.

Certain other diagnoses shifted in the rankings in June 2022. For example, from May to June, developmental disorders and joint/soft tissue diseases and issues traded places nationally, with the latter ending in fourth place and the former in fifth place. Similarly, skin infections and issues and urinary tract infections traded places in the South, with the latter ending in fourth place and the former in fifth place.

Specialties
From May to June 2022, in the West, psychologist fell from fourth to fifth place in the list of top five telehealth specialties, switching places with primary care nonphysician.

Procedure Codes
In June 2022, the rankings of the top five telehealth procedure codes did not change nationally or in any region when compared to the prior four months. The number one telehealth procedure code nationally and in every region remained CPT®² 90837, one-hour psychotherapy.

Costs
For June 2022, the Telehealth Cost Corner spotlighted the cost of CPT 90836, 45-minute psychotherapy with evaluation and management visit. Nationally, the median charge amount for this service when rendered via telehealth was $180.72, and the median allowed amount was $111.81.³

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 telehealth's percentage of medical claim lines, as well as that month's top five telehealth procedure codes, diagnoses and specialties. Additionally, in the Telehealth Cost Corner, a specific telehealth procedure code is featured, with its median charge amount and median allowed amount.

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.

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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 38 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 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. Marty Makary's book The Price We Pay: What Broke American Health Care—and How to Fix It and 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 Marketing
FAIR Health
646-396-0795
[email protected]

¹ A claim line is an individual service or procedure listed on an insurance claim.
² CPT © 2021 American Medical Association (AMA). All rights reserved.
³ 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