KFF October 2, 2024
Use of telehealth, which allows patients to see health care providers without being in the same location, has grown rapidly in recent years, among both privately-insured patients and Medicare beneficiaries. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth utilization in traditional Medicare was very low, but it rose dramatically in 2020 following temporary measures put in place at the start of the COVID-19 public health emergency that greatly expanded the scope of Medicare coverage of telehealth. Since early 2021 telehealth use has declined steadily, but it remains higher than pre-pandemic levels, with considerable variation by income level, race and ethnicity, and urban versus rural location, among other factors.
Congress has extended a number of pandemic-era flexibilities around Medicare coverage of telehealth beyond...
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