Pre-COVID-19 Disparities in Telemedicine Use Among Louisiana Medicaid Beneficiaries.

Abstract

Background: We examine trends in telemedicine use by race, geography, and age among Louisiana Medicaid beneficiaries in the months preceding the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Using Louisiana Medicaid claims data from January 2018 through February 2020, we calculated a relative ratio of telemedicine use as the share of telemedicine claims by race, age, and geography and conducted two-sample t-tests. Results: In 2018, White beneficiaries used telemedicine at a relative ratio of 1.92 compared with Black beneficiaries (p < 0.001) and 2.02 compared with Hispanic beneficiaries (p < 0.001). Rural beneficiaries used telemedicine at a relative ratio of 1.27 (p < 0.001) compared with urban beneficiaries. Children and adolescents used telemedicine at a higher rate than other age groups. Racial and geographic disparities narrowed in the first months of 2020. Conclusions: Telemedicine use in Louisiana Medicaid was low but growing before the pandemic with narrowing disparities by race and geography and emerging disparities by age.