Telehealth availability and use among beneficiaries in Traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage

Medicare Advantage (MA) plans must cover all telehealth services offered by Traditional Medicare (TM), but have flexibility to provide additional telehealth services. It is not known whether these flexibilities are associated with telehealth availability and use. In this study, we examined differences in telehealth availability and use between TM and MA beneficiaries.

This cross-sectional study analyzed beneficiaries who participated in the 2021 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey. Our primary outcomes were telehealth availability and use, assessed both overall and by modality (telephone only, video only, and both). Our key independent variable was full-year enrollment in MA versus TM. Differences in outcomes between TM and MA beneficiaries were estimated using logistic regression models that adjusted for beneficiary characteristics. The analysis of telehealth availability included all beneficiaries in the sample, while the analysis of telehealth use was limited to those offered telehealth services. In a secondary analysis, we examined differences between TM and MA beneficiaries in the availability of technology that may enable telehealth use and experience using the internet to seek information.

Among 8130 Medicare beneficiaries, MA beneficiaries were 2.9 (95% CI: 0.6-5.2) percentage points more likely to have a provider who offered telehealth services than TM beneficiaries, including both telephone and video options. However, MA beneficiaries were 3.5 (-6.7, -0.4) percentage points less likely to use telehealth services than TM beneficiaries. Video-only options were used less frequently among MA beneficiaries compared to those in TM (-2.7 [-5.1, -0.3]). Despite lower telehealth use, MA beneficiaries had comparable or higher rates of technology access and internet experience compared to TM beneficiaries.

Our findings suggest that greater access to telehealth services among MA beneficiaries did not translate into greater telehealth use. Future research is warranted to explore the underlying mechanisms behind lower use of telehealth services among MA beneficiaries.