FAIR Health Research
December 17, 2024
FAIR Health continues to publish original data studies that explore healthcare-related issues. Topics of this year’s studies included cancer in younger adults, giving birth, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, mental health conditions, place of service trends and medical pricing, and in-network and out-of-network utilization and pricing. In addition, we introduced a new Opioid Tracker, and we added new features to the Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker in its fifth year. We also released two infographics, one on FAIR Health consumer website usage statistics and the other on sexually transmitted diseases, as well as two briefs: one that offers a user’s guide to the new Opioid Tracker and a second that offers a user’s guide to a new series of six-month trending reports based on the 2024 Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker.
FAIR Health, Cancer in Younger Adults: A Claims-Based Study, A FAIR Health White Paper, December 10, 2024.
This white paper examined cancer trends in adults aged 18 to 49 during the period 2016-2023. The study focused on cancer treatment rates (defined as the percentage of patients with cancer who received medical services in a given year out of all patients in a given age group who received medical services in that same year) by age over time, cancer treatment rates by state, types of cancer, treatment costs, cancer vaccine utilization rates, cancer screening utilization rates and provider specialties treating cancer patients. The study found that, from 2016 to 2023, overall cancer treatment rates decreased in patients aged 18 to 49. From 2020 to 2023, however, cancer treatment rates increased in that age group.
FAIR Health, Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker Trending Reports: A User’s Guide, A FAIR Health Brief, October 15, 2024.
This brief offered a user’s guide to the Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker Trending Reports, a set of infographics that show national and regional six-month trends in telehealth. This first edition covered telehealth trends from January to June 2024. Among the findings: Telehealth utilization increased nationally and in all regions except the Northeast, where it decreased. In addition, mental health conditions ranked as the number one telehealth diagnostic category nationally and in all regions and increased as a percentage of claim lines nationally and in all regions.
FAIR Health, The FAIR Health Opioid Tracker: A Helpful User's Guide, A FAIR Health Brief, September 26, 2024.
This brief offered a user’s guide to the Opioid Tracker, a resource on opioid abuse and dependence procedure codes, allowed amounts and diagnoses by age and gender. Among the findings reported in the brief: Nationally, the percentage of patients with opioid abuse and dependence diagnoses compared to all patients receiving medical services from 2020 to 2023 showed an overall increase of 7.3 percent. In addition, the highest national percentage of opioid abuse and dependence diagnoses were attributable to patients in the 51 to 65 age group, with 27.3 percent of the total.
FAIR Health, Giving Birth in the United States: A Study of Commercial Claims, A FAIR Health White Paper, September 9, 2024.
This white paper built on FAIR Health’s Cost of Giving Birth Tracker by examining various aspects of giving birth in the United States, including age, co-occurring conditions, birth rate, delivery types, provider specialties and costs. The study found that from 2020 to 2023, potential complications of pregnancy and delivery rose 19.8 percent. Also, mental health disorders in pregnant women rose 52.9 percent and substance use disorders in pregnant women increased 8.2 percent.
FAIR Health, Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs): An Ongoing Health Problem, A FAIR Health Infographic, July 2024.
This infographic showed the percent change in the percentage of patients with STDs by age, STD type and gender from 2020 to 2023. The study found that the percentage of commercially insured patients with STD diagnoses rose by 4.8 percent during the study period. Also, the fastest-growing STD diagnoses were syphilis (29.4 percent), gonorrhea (16.8 percent), and HIV and AIDS (14.1 percent), and patients aged 65 and older were the age group with the largest increase (23.8 percent) in STD diagnoses overall.
FAIR Health, Healthcare Spending among Diverse Populations with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias: A Claims-Based Analysis, A FAIR Health White Paper, June 27, 2024.
This white paper focused on the influence of three imputed factors—race/ethnicity, poverty and urban/rural location—on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) healthcare spending and utilization from 2016 to 2023. Findings from this study have contributed to understanding the myriad factors that influence healthcare utilization and spending for individuals living with ADRD and will lay the groundwork for future studies and initiatives focused on ADRD treatment and services.
FAIR Health, Trends in Mental Health Conditions: An Analysis of Private Healthcare Claims, A FAIR Health White Paper, April 29, 2024.
This study focused on trends in utilization of mental health services from 2019 to 2023, including such aspects as geography, age, gender, in-network services, places of service, specialties and the prevalence of substance use disorders among those with mental health conditions. Among the findings: Nationally, the percentage of patients with mental health diagnoses rose 39.8 percent during the study period. In addition, patients aged 65 and over had a 57.4 percent increase in mental health diagnoses, the highest increase of all age groups.
FAIR Health, FH® Healthcare Indicators and FH® Medical Price Index 2024: An Annual View of Place of Service Trends and Medical Pricing, A FAIR Health White Paper, March 26, 2024.
This white paper was the seventh annual edition to cover place of service trends and medical prices. The report showed that from 2021 to 2022, utilization increased 202 percent in retail clinics, 138 percent in emergency rooms, 88 percent in ambulatory surgery centers, 43 percent in urgent care centers and 8 percent in telehealth. In terms of medical pricing, from November 2022 to November 2023, all six procedure categories increased in charge amount index, while five out of six increased in allowed amount index. The largest charge amount increase was for professional evaluation and management, five percent. Radiology was the only category to have a decrease in allowed amount index, four percent.
FAIR Health, In-Network and Out-of-Network Utilization and Pricing: A Study of Private Healthcare Claims, A FAIR Health White Paper, February 20, 2024.
This white paper examined in-network and out-of-network utilization and pricing from 2019 to 2023, a period that includes the first two years after the No Surprises Act (NSA) took effect. The study focused on professional services in facility settings, particularly in four specialties that have frequently been associated with surprise bills: anesthesia, emergency medicine, pathology and radiology. Among the key findings: From the fourth quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2022, a relatively sharp increase in in-network percentages nationally (2.3 percent) and in all regions occurred across all specialties at the time the NSA went into effect.
FAIR Health, fairhealthconsumer.org Usage Statistics 2023, A FAIR Health Infographic, February 2024.
This infographic was the latest annual presentation of year-end statistics on the usage of FAIR Health Consumer, FAIR Health’s award-winning consumer website. The analyses included top medical and dental search terms, the age and gender of users, top user locations, top decision aids, popular topics and most frequently visited total treatment cost bundles. Among the findings: Females represented 54 percent of users, while males represented 46 percent. Most users were located in California, and the majority of users were aged 25-34 (23 percent) and 35-44 (22 percent).
Opioid Tracker
Released in September 2024, the Opioid Tracker includes a heat map representing the percentage of patients with opioid abuse and dependence diagnoses compared to all patients receiving medical services in 2023 for each state. Clicking on a state displays an infographic for that state. The infographic includes the top five procedure codes by utilization for opioid abuse and dependence, the top five procedure codes by aggregate allowed amounts for opioid abuse and dependence, the change in the percentage of patients with opioid abuse and dependence diagnoses compared to all patients receiving medical services from 2020 to 2023, and the distribution of patients with opioid abuse and dependence diagnoses by age and gender. There is also a similar infographic for the nation as a whole.
Cost of Giving Birth Tracker
The Cost of Giving Birth Tracker was launched in June 2023 with data through September 2022 and updated in June 2024 with data through September 2023. The Tracker is a free, interactive tool for tracking the cost of giving birth state by state. Heat maps show state-specific and national median charge and allowed (in-network) amounts for vaginal deliveries and C-sections. Included in the data are inpatient and outpatient facility and professional costs. Services include the delivery itself (e.g., pharmacy, nursery, labor and delivery room, medical and surgical supplies, room and board for the mother), anesthesia, fetal nonstress tests, ultrasounds, laboratory work and a breast pump. Among the changes seen from the original to the updated tracker: The national median allowed amount for C-section rose 8.9 percent, from approximately $15,500 in September 2022 to almost $17,000 in September 2023.
Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker
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. The 2024 edition of the Tracker added new features: top five specialties, top mental health diagnoses and age distribution. A new Place of Service Cost Corner compares median allowed amounts for a specific procedure provided via telehealth to the same procedure provided in an office. Continuing from previous years are the percent change in telehealth’s percentage of medical claim lines and the top five telehealth diagnostic categories. Also new in 2024 is FAIR Health’s addition of the Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker Trending Reports, which show trends in telehealth utilization and costs over six months. The first edition of the reports showed telehealth trends in the first six months of 2024; a user’s guide was released simultaneously in October 2024 and is detailed above.