Telehealth roundup: HHS says rural Medicare patients were less likely to use it early in the pandemic, and fraud was rare

Medicare beneficiaries in metro areas were more likely than their rural counterparts to use telehealth during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report form the Health and Human Services Department's Office of Inspector General. The report didn't report or speculate on why rural beneficiaries were less likely to use telehealth, but did say that beneficiaries almost always used telehealth from home or in other non-health-care settings. Given widespread rural broadband disparities, it's possible rural patients may not have been able to get a good enough signal to access the tech. And some rural seniors may have lacked the tech savvy to access telehealth, a problem seen with switching them to newer phones during the 3G transition. Read more here.

Another report from the inspector general found that telehealth fraud was rare in the first year of the pandemic. Read more here.

In July, the House overwhelming passed a bill that would extend through 2024 the expanded pandemic-era Medicare benefits and reimbursements for telehealth services. However, the Senate hasn't passed the legislation, and while supporters say they're confident it will happen, there are still some obstacles (mainly a lack of time before the midterms). Read more here.

Expanded telehealth services during the pandemic reduced the risk of overdose for those struggling with opioid use, according to a newly published study by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. Read more here.

Telehealth brings important services to rural long-term care facilities. Read more here.