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Advances in Telehealth

Listed below by date of publication are recent data products and research reports on telehealth utilization and policies before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Impact of COVID-19 public health emergency on federal telehealth policies

ASPE has conducted research on telehealth utilization during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) using national survey data, Medicare claims, and examined changes in state Medicaid telehealth policies. Prior to the PHE, ASPE’s telehealth research also examined various telehealth approaches across settings.

The COVID-19 PHE led to temporary flexibilities by federal and state governments on the use of telehealth to support broad access to care during this period. Some of these flexibilities were subsequently made permanent.

Policy changes during the PHE including temporary waivers of federal telehealth policies for Medicare and Medicaid are summarized on the Telehealth.HHS.gov website, maintained by the Health Resources and Services Administration

Partner Resources

The Telehealth.HHS.gov website provides information for health care providers and patients about the latest federal efforts to support and promote virtual health care, known as telehealth. It was built by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Public Webinar: Demo of HHS/ASPE Medicare Telehealth Trends Dashboard
Date/Time: Thursday July 27, 11am-12pm EST
This webinar is a public demonstration of the Medicare Telehealth Trends Dashboard developed by HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning & Evaluation (ASPE), Office of Health Policy.

Participants will need to register for the webinar to get the WebEx webinar information. You just need to provide your name and email address.

Telehealth Data Products

Medicare Telehealth Trends Dashboard, 2019-2021
June 30, 2023

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Users looking at a virtual dashboard

This dashboard uses 2019-2021 Medicare FFS claims data, aggregated by beneficiary characteristics, visit specialty and state to allow users to explore different trends in telehealth use during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with 2019. This tool is intended to provide broad trends in Medicare telehealth use and change over time. Users to manipulate aggregated Medicare FFS claims data to address their own policy and research questions of interest.

Access the Interactive Medicare Telehealth Dashboard

Telehealth Reports

State Medicaid Telehealth Coverage Policy Decisions Since the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
July 12, 2023

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Note about some states permanently adopting expansive telehealth policies that were allowed during the PHE

ASPE contracted with RAND Health Care to catalogue and assess state changes to Medicaid telehealth policies during the COVID-19 PHE through May 2022 and identify the driving circumstances, motivations, and evidence supporting telehealth policy decisions during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE). The purpose of this study was to review changes to state Medicaid telehealth policies and/or new policies enacted during the COVID-19 PHE, examining policies that were rolled back, as well as those made permanent in part or in whole.

Read the State Medicaid Telehealth Coverage Policy Decisions Issue Brief


Updated Medicare FFS Telehealth Trends 2019-2021 by Beneficiary Characteristics, Visit Specialty, and State
July 20, 2023

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Issue Brief example

Building on prior ASPE reports, this research report provides updates trends in Medicare fee-for-service Part B visits and use of telehealth from 2019 to 2021 during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) by beneficiary characteristics, visit specialty, and state. The report is accompanied by an interactive Medicare Telehealth Trends Dashboard.

Read the Medicare Telehealth Trends Research Report
Access the Interactive Medicare Telehealth Dashboard


Updated National Survey Trends in Telehealth Utilization and Modality (2021-2022)
April 20, 2023

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Issue Brief example

Telehealth utilization has changed over time since the steep increase from the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. This report updates prior findings on national trends of telehealth use through an analysis using the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey data from April 2021 through August 2022.

Read the National Survey Trends in Telehealth Issue Brief


State Medicaid Telehealth Policies Before and During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency: 2022 Update
November 22, 2022

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State Medicaid Telehealth Policies

This issue brief provides updates on state Medicaid policies regarding delivery of telehealth services by provider types and modalities, as of January 2022. The COVID-19 pandemic substantially accelerated interest in and utilization of telehealth across all payers including Medicaid.

Read the State Medicaid Telehealth Policies Issue Brief


National Survey Trends in Telehealth Use in 2021: Disparities in Utilization and Audio vs. Video Services
Feb 1, 2022

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Telehealth Issue Brief

Telehealth services expanded rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using data from the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey (HPS) in 2021, this Issue Brief analyzes national trends in telehealth utilization across all payers and examines how use of video-enabled vs. audio-only telehealth services differ across patient populations. The study finds notable disparities by race, ethnicity, income, age, and insurance status in access to video-enabled telehealth.

Read the 2021 National Survey Trends in Telehealth Issue Brief


Medicare Beneficiaries’ Use of Telehealth in 2020: Trends by Beneficiary Characteristics and Location
Dec 3, 2021

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2020 Medicare Trends

This research report examines changes in Medicare fee-for-service Part B visits and use of telehealth in 2020 during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) by beneficiary characteristics, provider specialty, and location. The analysis found that Medicare in-person visits dropped while telehealth visits increased significantly at the start of the pandemic.

Read the 2020 Medicare Telehealth Trends Issue Brief