In December, Overweight and Obesity Entered the Top Five Telehealth Diagnostic Categories in the South and Midwest

Overweight and Obesity Remained the Third Most Common Telehealth Diagnostic Category Nationally

The Percentage of Patients with a Telehealth Claim Increased Nationally and in Every Region

NEW YORK, March 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- In December 2025, overweight and obesity entered the top five telehealth diagnostic categories in the South for the first time in 2025, according to FAIR Health's Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker. Also in December, this diagnostic category entered the rankings in the Midwest for the first time since June. In both regions, it entered in fifth position, displacing November's fifth-position categories (encounter for examination in the South, noninflammatory female disorders in the Midwest), which fell off the lists. From November to December, there was no change in the overweight and obesity category rankings nationally or in the other regions; it ranked second in the West and third nationally and in the Northeast. The data represent the commercially insured population, excluding Medicare Fee-for-Service, Medicare Advantage and Medicaid.

In December, the largest percentage of telehealth claims, nationally and in every region, again consisted of patients with a mental health condition. From November to December, that percentage decreased nationally and in every region. Nationally, patients with a mental health condition decreased from 63.0 percent of patients with a telehealth claim in November to 62.4 percent in December.

Utilization
The percentage of patients with a telehealth claim increased nationally and in every US census region in December 2025. Nationally, that percentage increased from 15.0 percent in November to 15.2 percent in December, a 1.5 percent rise. The largest increase was in the Northeast, at 1.8 percent; in the South, it was 1.2 percent; in the West, it was 0.7 percent; and in the Midwest, it was 0.2 percent.

Telehealth utilization as measured by telehealth claim lines¹ increased nationally and in the Northeast and South but decreased in the Midwest and West in December 2025. Nationally, telehealth claim lines increased from 5.1 percent of medical claim lines in November to 5.2 percent in December, an increase of 2.8 percent. In the Northeast, the increase was 3.5 percent and, in the South, it was 3.7 percent. In the Midwest, telehealth claim lines decreased by 2.1 percent, and in the West, the decrease was 0.5 percent.

Urban Versus Rural
In December 2025, as in November, telehealth utilization was higher in urban than rural areas nationally and in every region.² Nationally, 15.4 percent of patients in urban areas had a telehealth claim, compared to 7.9 percent in rural areas. The largest difference occurred in the Midwest, where the percentage of urban patients using telehealth (11.7 percent) was 2.3 times the percentage of rural patients (5.1 percent). The smallest difference was found in the Northeast, where the percentage of patients in urban areas using telehealth (17.8 percent) was 1.5 times the percentage of patients in rural areas using telehealth (12.2 percent).

Age Distribution
In December 2025, the age group 31-40 followed by the age group 19-30 had the highest proportion of patients with a telehealth claim nationally and in every region. This was a change from November, when the two top age groups were reversed everywhere except the South. Nationally and in every region, the age groups 0-9 and 65 and older had the lowest proportion of patients with a telehealth claim. In all areas, less than 10 percent of patients in those age groups had a telehealth claim.

Procedure Categories
In December 2025, psychotherapy services and procedures, and established patient office or other outpatient services (including those for mental health conditions), were, as in November, the top two procedure categories nationally and in every region. The order of the two varied by location: Psychotherapy services and procedures ranked first nationally (47.4 percent of patients with a telehealth claim in December, down from 47.5 percent in November) and in the Midwest and Northeast in both months, while established patient office or other outpatient services ranked first in the South and West in both months.

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 year, the infographic introduces varied views into telehealth utilization. In this sixth iteration of the Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker, each infographic shows month-to-month changes in telehealth utilization, both through telehealth's percentage of medical claim lines and percent of patients with a telehealth claim; and that month's top five diagnostic categories; top five procedure categories; age distribution, which captures the percentage of patients within each age group with a telehealth claim; and urban versus rural telehealth usage.

This will be the last monthly edition of the Telehealth Tracker. Beginning with data from 2026, the Telehealth Tracker will be released quarterly as the Quarterly Telehealth Regional Tracker. The first installment, presenting data from January to March 2026, will be released in June 2026.

For the Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker, click here.

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About FAIR Health
FAIR Health's mission is to supply objective, unbiased information for all stakeholders to improve healthcare quality, access and affordability. It holds the nation's largest collection of commercial healthcare claims data, which is growing at a rate of about four billion claim records a year. A national Qualified Entity certified by CMS, FAIR Health also receives all claims for individuals enrolled in traditional Medicare Parts A, B and D. As a testament to its reliability and objectivity, FAIR Health's data products—including pricing benchmarks and custom analytics—are widely used by commercial insurers and self-insurers, providers, hospitals and healthcare systems, government, researchers and more. FAIR Health has been designated an official data source for state health programs, including workers' compensation and personal injury protection (PIP) programs, and surprise billing laws that protect consumers. FAIR Health's free consumer website and mobile app, available in English and Spanish, enable consumers to estimate and plan for their healthcare expenses and offer a rich educational platform on health insurance. 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 is a national, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. For more information on FAIR Health, visit fairhealth.org.

¹ A claim line is an individual service or procedure listed on an insurance claim.
² Each telehealth service was attributed to a rural/urban designation in a region based on the patient's medical service area, which FAIR Health determines based on the unique geographical pattern of services utilized by the patient.

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

SOURCE FAIR Health