Aetna and UnitedHealthcare both reimburse providers for telehealth services, and large employers are increasingly adding the benefit to make receiving care without missing work more accessible. Medicare, however, has been slower to act, according to a recent report in The American Journal of Managed Care.
The main concern of the Congressional Budget Office is that widespread availability of telehealth would lead to overuse and soaring costs. However, according to a recent study in Telemedicine journal and e-health, Medicare spending on telemedicine falls below the allotted funds the government payer can spend on virtual visits.
Researchers examining Medicare claims data from 2012 found total Medicare telemedicine-related expenditures equaled approximately $5 million, which uses 65.2 percent of the total allowed $7.7 million dedicated to telemedicine-related charges. According to researchers, this breaks down to $0.09 per Medicare enrollee per year spent on telemedicine.
Today, Medicare Advantage plans can employ telehealth because the cost is built in to the per capita payment, and accountable care organizations have more recently gained the ability to offer telehealth, according to the report.
Many experts have called traditional Medicare's restricted use of telemedicine disappointing because seniors would benefit significantly from it. According to Krista Drobac, executive director of the Alliance for Connected Care, there is a great need and desire for telehealth as the population ages but continues to work, combined with a shortage of primary care physicians.