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FAIR Health’s Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker Enters Fifth Year

New Features Include Top Five Specialties, Top Mental Health Diagnoses and Age Distribution

Mental Health Conditions Account for 66 Percent of Telehealth Claim Lines Nationally in January 2024

NEW YORK, NY—April 15, 2024—With the release of January 2024 data this month, FAIR Health’s Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker enters its fifth year of reporting on the evolution of telehealth from month to month. As before, a free, interactive map of the 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.

This fifth year brings notable changes to the Telehealth Tracker. New features include top five specialties, top mental health diagnoses and age distribution. The 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.¹ Also included in the new Telehealth Tracker are two continuing features, the top five diagnostic categories and telehealth’s percentage of medical claim lines.² The data represent the privately insured population, excluding Medicare Fee-for-Service, Medicare Advantage and Medicaid.

Among the key findings for January 2024:

Utilization

Telehealth accounted for 4.8 percent of all medical claim lines nationally. Telehealth utilization varied by region, from a high of 6.3 percent of all medical claim lines in the West to a low of 3.6 percent in the South. In between were the Northeast (5.9 percent) and the Midwest (4.1 percent).

Diagnostic Categories

The top telehealth diagnostic category nationally and in every region was mental health conditions. It accounted for 66.3 percent of telehealth claim lines nationally, and from 56.0 percent (South) to 75.3 percent (Northeast) regionally.

COVID-19 was in the top five diagnostic categories in only one region, the Northeast, where it ranked fourth with 1.3 percent of telehealth claim lines. It was not in the top five nationally.

Mental Health Diagnoses

Generalized anxiety disorder was the top mental health telehealth diagnosis nationally and in every region. It accounted for 30 percent or more of mental health telehealth claim lines nationally and in every region, but had the largest share in the Northeast, at 38.1 percent.

Nationally and in three of the four regions, the top five mental health diagnoses were the same. The only difference in the rankings was in the South, where bipolar disorder ranked at number five, while post-traumatic stress disorder ranked fifth in the other regions and nationally.

Specialties

Social worker was the top telehealth provider specialty nationally and in all regions. The disparity between first and second place in the rankings, however, was greater in the Midwest and Northeast than in the South and West. For example, in the Midwest, social worker accounted for 41.7 percent of telehealth claim lines compared to 9.1 percent for psychology in second place, while in the South, social worker accounted for 28.4 percent compared to 15.8 percent for family practice in second place.

The South and West were the only regions where family practice was in the top five specialties. Family practice was also in the top five nationally.

Age

The age group 31 to 40 accounted for the largest share of telehealth claim lines nationally and in the South and West, while the age group 19 to 30 accounted for the largest share in the Midwest and Northeast.

Costs

Nationally, the median allowed amount for CPT®³ 99213 (established patient office or other outpatient visit with low level of decision making; if using time, 20 minutes or more) was $88 when rendered via telehealth or in an office. In the Northeast, the cost was $94 in both places of service; in the South, it was $82 in both places of service. In the Midwest, the cost was higher in an office ($94) than via telehealth ($87). But in the West, the cost was lower in an office ($87) than via telehealth ($90).

FAIR Health President Robin Gelburd stated: “As the Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker enters its fifth year, FAIR Health has again modified it to keep pace with the changing needs of stakeholders for current information about this venue of care. We look forward to another year of tracking the evolution of telehealth.”

For the Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker, click here.

¹An 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).

² A claim line is an individual service or procedure listed on an insurance claim.

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 commercial healthcare claims data, which includes over 46 billion claim records and is growing at a rate of over 3 billion claim records a year. FAIR Health licenses its commercial 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, which accounts for a separate collection of over 47 billion claim records; FAIR Health includes among the commercial 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. For more information on FAIR Health, visit fairhealth.org.

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