Following One-Month Decline, Telehealth Utilization Increased Nearly Two Percent Nationally in November 2022

COVID-19 Rose among Top Five Telehealth Diagnoses Nationally in November 2022, according to FAIR Health's Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker

NEW YORK, Feb. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- National telehealth utilization increased 1.9 percent in November 2022, from 5.2 percent of medical claim lines in October to 5.3 percent in November, according to FAIR Health's Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker.¹ The increase in telehealth utilization followed a one-month decline in utilization in October. Telehealth utilization was higher than the national average in the West (5.7 percent), Midwest (2.6 percent) and South (2.4 percent), while remaining unchanged in the Northeast. The data represent the privately insured population, including Medicare Advantage and excluding Medicare Fee-for-Service and Medicaid.

Diagnoses
In November 2022, COVID-19 increased in rank among the top five telehealth diagnoses nationally and in most regions, after two months of declining in rank nationally and in most regions. COVID-19 climbed from fifth place to third place nationally and in the Midwest. In the South and West—where it had fallen off the list in respectively, October and September—it reappeared in third place in November. In the Northeast, its rank remained unchanged at third place.

In November, acute respiratory diseases and infections remained in second place nationally and in every region. Though this diagnosis did not continue the climb in the rankings it had exhibited in September and October, it continued to rise in percentage share of telehealth claim lines nationally and in every region. Nationally, in November, acute respiratory diseases and infections grew from 4.1 percent to 5.1 percent of telehealth claim lines.

Specialties
Nationally and in the West, among the top five telehealth specialties in November 2022, primary care nonphysician rose from fifth place to fourth place, where it supplanted psychologist, which fell to fifth place. Social worker remained the number one telehealth specialty nationally and in every region, though it dropped everywhere in its percentage share of telehealth claim lines, while primary care physician and primary care nonphysician rose everywhere in percentage share.

Procedure Codes
From October to November 2022, the rankings of the top five telehealth procedure codes did not change nationally or in any region when compared to the prior nine months. The number one telehealth procedure code nationally and in every region remained CPT^®2 90837, one-hour psychotherapy. However, CPT 90837 and CPT 90834, 45-minute psychotherapy, declined in their percentage share of telehealth claim lines nationally and in most regions. The exception was the South with CPT 90834, which exhibited no change.

Costs
For November 2022, the Telehealth Cost Corner spotlighted the cost of CPT 97110, therapy procedure using exercise to develop strength, endurance, range of motion and flexibility, each 15 minutes. Nationally, the median charge amount for this service when rendered via telehealth was $65.32, and the median allowed amount was $32.85.³

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 40 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
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FAIR Health
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[email protected]

¹ A claim line is an individual service or procedure listed on an insurance claim.
² CPT © 2022 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