Telehealth Coverage During the COVID-19 Pandemic

AHIP: Telehealth Coverage During the COVID-19 Pandemic

AHIP published a report demonstrating the extent to which health insurance providers modified the benefit design of their Consumer-Directed Health Plan (CDHP) product offerings to cover more telehealth services pre-deductible, how those services were made available, and for which medical specialties the services were most utilized. Nearly all Health Savings Account (HSA)-eligible CDHPs modified their benefit design to cover telehealth services on a pre-deductible basis, with 83 percent of issuers offering fully insured products and 81 percent of plans offering self-insured products. Among specific telehealth services covered pre-deductible, the most common types were primary care (95 percent), mental health (95 percent), chronic care (89 percent), and acute/urgent care (89 percent). The findings suggest the urgent need for an extension of the telehealth safe harbor to allow millions to continue to access affordable and convenient health care.