Certain Medicare beneficiaries, such as urban and Hispanic beneficiaries, were more likely than others to use telehealth during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic

Certain Medicare beneficiaries, such as urban and Hispanic beneficiaries, were more likely than others to use telehealth during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic

Collection:
Health Policy and Services Research
Series Title(s):
Data brief (United States. Department of Health and Human Services. Office of Inspector General)
Contributor(s):
United States. Department of Health and Human Services. Office of Inspector General. Office of Evaluation and Inspections, issuing body.
Publication:
Washington, D.C. : U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, September 2022
Language(s):
English
Format:
Text
Subject(s):
COVID-19
Government Regulation
Hispanic or Latino
Medicare
Telemedicine -- statistics & numerical data
Urban Population
United States
Genre(s):
Technical Report
Abstract:
Why OIG Did This Review. The COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented challenges for how Medicare beneficiaries access health care. In response, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) took a number of actions to temporarily expand access to telehealth for Medicare beneficiaries. CMS allowed beneficiaries to use telehealth for a wide range of services and in different locations, including in urban areas and from the beneficiary’s home. In a companion report, OIG found that the use of telehealth increased dramatically during the first year of the pandemic. More than 28 million - about 2 in 5 - Medicare beneficiaries used telehealth that first year. In total, beneficiaries used 88 times more telehealth services during the first year of the pandemic than they did in the prior year. This data brief expands on that analysis and examines the characteristics of beneficiaries who used telehealth during the first year of the pandemic. This information sheds light on how the temporary expansion of telehealth affected different groups of beneficiaries. This information will help CMS, HHS, Congress, and other stakeholders understand who benefited from the expansion and make decisions about whether some of the temporary changes should become permanent. It can also inform efforts aimed at ensuring that all beneficiaries have appropriate access to telehealth. This data brief includes beneficiaries in Medicare fee-for-service and Medicare Advantage. This data brief is part of a series that examines the use of telehealth in Medicare and identifies program integrity concerns related to telehealth during the pandemic. How OIG Did This Review. This analysis focuses on Medicare beneficiaries who used telehealth services during the first year of the pandemic from March 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021. We based this analysis on Medicare fee-for-service claims data, Medicare Advantage encounter data, and data from the Medicare Enrollment Database.
Copyright:
The National Library of Medicine believes this item to be in the public domain. (More information)
Extent:
1 online resource (1 PDF file (35 pages))
Illustrations:
Illustrations
NLM Unique ID:
9918716088306676 (See catalog record)
Permanent Link:
http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918716088306676