Medicare saw telehealth use grow more than 6,000% during pandemic

The Health and Human Services Department found that Medicare visits held via telehealth increased 63-fold from 2019 to 2020 as a result of flexibilities put into place due to the COVID-19 public health emergency, according to a new HHS study released Friday.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will use the report's results to inform future Medicare telehealth policy, CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said in a news release.

Providers have been eager to see how lawmakers and policymakers will regulate telehealth once the PHE ends. Medicare payment advisors have suggested a temporary extension of flexibilities to allow time to study telehealth's impacts.

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CMS already expanded reimbursement for telehealth to treat mental health issues in the hospital outpatient payment rule last month. Beneficiaries were more likely to use telehealth for mental health services in 2020. Employers also increased access to telehealth in 2020.