Telehealth use among Medicare beneficiaries varies widely: 5 insights based on age, race & location
While more than one in four (27 percent) of Medicare beneficiaries had a telehealth visit between the summer and fall of 2020, participants ranged by factors including age and race, according to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation report.
Here is a breakdown of the beneficiaries who used telehealth last summer and fall, based on age, race/ethnicity, location and the number and types of chronic conditions they have.
Age category:
- Under 65 years old: 30 percent
- Sixty-five to 74 years old: 27 percent
- At least 75 years old: 25 percent
Race/ethnicity category:
- White: 26 percent
- Black: 30 percent
- Hispanic: 33 percent
Number of chronic conditions category:
- Zero to one: 18 percent
- Two to three: 24 percent
- Four to five: 33 percent
- Six or more: 36 percent
Type of chronic condition:
- Diabetes: 32 percent
- Any heart condition: 31 percent
- Emphysema/asthma/COPD: 34 percent
- Depression: 35 percent
- Immunocompromised: 40 percent
Location category:
- Urban: 28 percent
- Rural: 21 percent *