By JoAnn Volk, Dania Palanker, Madeline O’Brien and Christina Goe

The COVID-19 pandemic created an urgent need for remote access to health care to reduce the risk of community spread and protect patients. To encourage greater use of telemedicine during the pandemic, 22 states changed laws or policies to require more robust insurance coverage of telemedicine. Since these changes, telemedicine use has greatly expanded. One state that took action found a 3,000 percent increase in telemedicine claims compared with the prior year.

In a new issue brief for the Commonwealth Fund, CHIR experts reviewed state statutes existing prior to the pandemic in all 50 states and DC, and state actions taken in response to the pandemic. We found state actions focused on three key areas: requiring coverage of audio-only services, waiving cost-sharing or requiring cost-sharing no higher than identical in-person services, and requiring reimbursement parity between telemedicine and in-person services.

Use of telemedicine during the pandemic revealed numerous benefits. Providers and patients value the option to have care delivered virtually. It’s also been particularly helpful for behavioral health, which is notable given the projected long-term mental health impacts of the pandemic. But policymakers will need to consider how longer-term expansion of telemedicine affects access, cost, and quality of care.

As temporary orders and voluntary insurer efforts end, policymakers are considering how best to regulate telemedicine post-pandemic. This year alone, at least 30 states have weighed legislation to revise telemedicine coverage standards.

Read the full brief here.