Telehealth insurance claims from private policies up by 4,347 percent

This trend was led by the Northeastern US, where the increased reached a much higher 15,303 percent.

The latest FAIR Health report recorded a striking increase in the number of telehealth insurance claims in the United States, which rose by 4,347 percent compared to last year.

This dramatic trend is directly linked with the coronavirus pandemic precautions since March.

The leading reason that people filed telehealth insurance claims was for mental health conditions. The next most common reason for using these services was for respiratory diseases and infections, then joint/soft tissue diseases and problems, followed by hypertension.

The COVID-19 pandemic crisis has created a substantial shift in the way healthcare is provided in the United States. It has pushed virtual care forward at an extremely rapid rate. The FAIR Health Study’s results showed that March saw explosive growth in the use of digital medical services when compared to the same month in 2019.

The report was based on Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker data, which compares various virtual care claim lines. The figures do not include filings conducted through Medicare or Medicaid.

The telehealth insurance claims spiked as soon as the pandemic hit as care providers went digital.

Health providers and systems widely boosted their digital and virtual services to help reduce the need for patients to visit offices in person. This effort was made to help reduce the risk of spreading the coronavirus.

The report showed that total claim lines for virtual services increased from March 2019 when it was 0.17 percent to 7.52 percent in March of this year.

FAIR Health, which produces the report, is a natural, independent non-profit organization. Its mission is to bring transparency to healthcare costs and insurance information.

The most recent report from March 2020 data illustrates substantial shifts toward virtual healthcare services with the start of the COVID-19 crisis. The Northeastern United States saw the largest increase in telehealth insurance claims. The increase was 15,503 percent higher than the figure for the same month in 2019. That part of the country was highly affected by the coronavirus that month. The South saw a 3,427 percent increase, while the Midwest rose by 2,842, and the West increased by a more modest but still substantial 1,986 percent.