Telehealth Utilization Fell in July 2023 Nationally and in Every US Census Region

In July 2023, Sleep Disorders Climbed from Fifth to Third Place in the Rankings of Telehealth Diagnoses in the Midwest, according to FAIR Health's Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker

NEW YORK, Oct. 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In July 2023, telehealth utilization fell nationally and in every US census region, according to FAIR Health's Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker. At the national level, utilization decreased 5.6 percent, from 5.4 percent of medical claim lines¹ in June to 5.1 percent in July. The biggest regional decrease was seen in the South, where the percentage of medical claim lines associated with telehealth dropped by 9.3 percent. The data represent the privately insured population, including Medicare Advantage and excluding Medicare Fee-for-Service and Medicaid.

Asynchronous Telehealth
Nationally, the percentage of asynchronous telehealth² claim lines for hypertension increased from 13.2 percent in June to 14.0 percent in July. The increase was not enough to affect the rankings and hypertension remained in second place, behind acute respiratory diseases and infections (16.2 percent). Increases in the percentage of asynchronous telehealth claim lines for hypertension also occurred in every region except the Northeast, where they decreased from 23.3 percent in June to 22.6 percent in July, though hypertension still ranked number one. In the Midwest, the same condition climbed from the number two ranking in June (18.7 percent of claim lines), to number one in July (26.5 percent). In that region, hypertension displaced mental health conditions, which dropped from first place with 36.0 percent of claim lines in June to second place with 20.6 percent in July.

Top Five Telehealth Diagnoses
From June to July in the top five national telehealth diagnoses, developmental disorders rose from fourth to third place, while joint/soft tissue diseases and issues fell from third to fourth place. The two diagnoses, however, were highly similar in percentage of telehealth claim lines in July; each accounted for approximately 1.4 percent of telehealth claim lines, as did the diagnosis in fifth place, endocrine and metabolic disorders. 

The percentage of claim lines in all areas for the number one diagnosis—mental health conditions—remained relatively stable in July 2023. There was a slight decrease nationally (from 68.9 percent in June to 68.8 percent in July) and in the Midwest (from 74.6 percent to 74.5 percent). A more pronounced decrease occurred in the Northeast (from 76.6 percent to 75.9 percent), while in the South and West, the changes were in the opposite direction. Claim lines in the South increased from 60.6 percent in June to 60.7 percent in July and, in the West, they rose from 65.1 percent to 65.2 percent.

In the Midwest in July, sleep disorders climbed from fifth to third place in the rankings of telehealth diagnoses (from 1.2 percent of claim lines in June to 1.3 percent in July).

Audio-Only Telehealth Usage
In July 2023, utilization of audio-only telehealth services remained steady at the national level in urban areas (4.8 percent) and increased slightly in rural areas (rising from 4.5 percent in June to 4.6 percent in July). Among the four US census regions, audio-only utilization also showed little variation from June to July. The biggest change was seen in the rural South, where utilization decreased from 5.1 percent in June to 4.9 percent in July, while urban areas in that region remained steady at 9.1 percent. As in June, both nationally and in the South, urban areas showed higher utilization than rural areas, while in the Midwest, West and Northeast, utilization was higher in rural areas than urban areas.

Telehealth Cost Corner
For July 2023, the Telehealth Cost Corner spotlighted the cost of CPT^®3 99443, telephone medical discussion with physician, 21-30 minutes. Nationally, the median charge amount for this service when rendered via telehealth was $211.49, and the median allowed amount was $97.93.⁴

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.

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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 42 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).
³ CPT © 2022 American Medical Association (AMA). All rights reserved.
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 negotiated, in-network 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