Report: Telehealth Use in Rural Communities Is No Better Than in Urban Ones

Filed 1h ago · Via Daily Yonder · The Buffoon Desk

THIS STORY IS SCORED

Doh De Oh

Kevin MacLeod · incompetech.com · CC BY 4.0

Photo: Mostafameraji · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

A report from Elevance Health Public Policy Foundation, studying 11.5 million of its own insured members, found rural telehealth use for chronic conditions has lagged non-rural use since 2020, averaging 4.6% of visits versus 7.5%. The gap held steady across Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial plans and across conditions like diabetes, COPD, and sleep apnea.

The study did not examine why the gap exists. Outside telehealth providers interviewed pointed to broadband access rather than patient reluctance, with one saying counties lacking broadband show the lowest usage, and an Elevance official conceding more research is needed.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.

✒ FROM THE EDITORIAL DESK

An insurance company found a gap and is awfully careful not to say what causes it, while the telehealth outfits trying to sell into that gap are happy to point at the wires in the ground. That's not a coincidence, that's just who's paying for which study. The honest answer here probably costs a lot more than a press release.

Source: Read the original at Daily Yonder → Scored: Doh De Oh · Kevin MacLeod · CC BY 4.0