Medicare Telehealth Usage Increased Tenfold During COVID-19

Between 2019 and 2020, the number of telehealth encounters covered by Medicare expanded by a factor of 10. In 2019, from April through December there were 5 million Medicare telehealth encounters; these encounters involved 1.5 million Medicare beneficiaries. In 2020, from April to December there were 53 million Medicare telehealth encounters; these encounters involved 14.2 million beneficiaries. The expansion was discussed in a report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) about the impact of federal waivers to expand use of telehealth during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency. The report did not mention . . .