Telehealth and the Medicare Population: Building a Foundation for the Virtual Health Care Revolution

Telehealth and the Medicare Population:
Building a Foundation for the Virtual Health Care Revolution

May 23, 2022

As the United States slowly emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, the expansion of telehealth and virtual care options are poised to change our nation’s health care landscape. The Center for Medicare Advocacy (the Center) recognizes the value of telehealth services and is heartened by the potential to increase access to the country’s health care system.  We are also committed, however, to ensuring that older adults and people with disabilities receive quality health care while advancing health equity. It is critical that no beneficiaries are caught in the chasm created by the digital divide, created through disparities between those who can afford access, and utilize technology, and those who cannot. Furthermore, telehealth must supplant, not replace, in-person care options.

To that end, the Center has released a report, authored by Chiplin Medicare and Health Policy Fellow Cinnamon St. John, examining the evolution of telehealth for the Medicare population. While grounded in research, the report was guided by interviews with experts from around the nation about the complexities (both challenges and conveniences) that older adults and people with disabilities face accessing virtual care. 

We examined these issues through the lens of what we call “T.A.P. Challenges: Technology, Accessibility, and Peopleware.” Throughout this report, we describe the driving factors and key considerations behind each of these three categories of T.A.P. challenges, illustrated by examples from the field. 

This special telehealth report is aimed at advocates, lawmakers, and policy makers to aid in the creation of holistic policies that, as much as possible, do not create an unintended consequence of widening the digital divide. Let us build upon the lessons learned through the pandemic to help create a future where better health, quality care, and equality are realized.

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Download and read the full report at:
https://medicareadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Telehealth-Report_CMA_final.pdf 

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