Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE): Updated National Survey Trends in Telehealth Utilization and Modality 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. Compared to earlier periods in the pandemic, [...]
CDC: Percentage of Adults Who Used Telemedicine in Past 12 Months The CDC released data on the percentage of adults who used telemedicine by sex and health insurance coverage. Overall, in 2021, 35.3 percent of adults aged 18–64 years had a telemedicine visit with a health care professional in the past 12 months. The percentage [...]
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS): Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) Usual Source of Care and Telemedicine Use Data CMS announced the public availability of the MCBS data on the usual source of care and telemedicine use in Spring 2021. The estimates are based on data from the third MCBS COVID-19 Rapid [...]
Congressional Research Service: Federal Telehealth Flexibilities in Private Health Insurance During the COVID-19 PHE The Congressional Research Service, a public policy research institute of Congress, released a report summarizing the federal telehealth flexibilities for private health insurance coverage. By informing policymakers of the use of federal telehealth flexibilities in private health insurance brings [...]
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on Telemedicine Use CDC released a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) on percentage of persons who used telemedicine during the past 12 months, by age group. The report found that in 2021, approximately one third (32.8 percent) of persons of [...]
Journal of General Internal Medicine: Incorporating TechQuity in Virtual Care Within the Veterans Health Administration: Identifying Future Research and Operations Priorities Personnel from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) published a list of priorities for researchers as they begin to examine real and potential inequities in telehealth. Researchers convened a think tank of clinicians, [...]
Government Accountability Office (GAO): Federal Actions and Selected Non-Federal Practices to Facilitate Diversity of Patients The GAO released a report describing actions taken by federal agencies and non-federal cancer centers to facilitate enrollment of patients from diverse backgrounds in cancer clinical trials. The report found that the Departments of Health and Human Services [...]
Senate Finance Committee: Mental Health Parity Discussion Draft Senate Finance Committee Chair Wyden (D-OR), Ranking Member Crapo (R-ID), and Sens. Bennet (D-CO) and Burr (R-NC) released the fifth and final legislative discussion draft as part of the Committee’s bipartisan mental health initiative. This discussion draft included policies aimed at improving mental health parity [...]
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: CMS Released Medicaid and CHIP Access Data Brief CMS released a short data brief on the general utilization of mental health services for Medicaid and CHIP. Specifically, the rate of mental health service delivery via telehealth increased greatly during the COVID-19 PHE, peaking in April 2020 but [...]
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: Medicare Telehealth Trends The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released new data that highlights trends in the use of telehealth services between January 1, 2020 and March 31, 2022. The data allows for analysis of telehealth utilization by quarter, state, and various demographic characteristics. The data [...]