Telehealth Use During the Early COVID-19 Public Health Emergency and Subsequent Health Care Costs and Utilization

Abstract

Telehealth utilization increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, yet few studies have documented associations of telehealth use with subsequent medical costs and health care utilization. We examined associations of telehealth use during the early COVID-19 public health emergency (March–June 2020) with subsequent total medical costs and health care utilization among people with heart disease (HD). We created a longitudinal cohort of individuals with HD using MarketScan Commercial Claims data (2018–2022). We used difference-in-difference methodology adjusting for patients’ characteristics, comorbidities, COVID-19 infection status, and number of in-person visits. We found that using telehealth during the stay-at-home order period was associated with a reduction in total medical costs (by -$1814 per person), number of emergency department visits (by -88.6 per 1,000 persons), and inpatient admissions (by -32.4 per 1,000 persons). Telehealth use increased per-person per-year pharmacy prescription claims (by 0.514) and average number of days’ drug supply (by.773 days). These associated benefits of telehealth use can inform decision makers, insurance companies, and health care professionals, especially in the context of disrupted health care access.