Telemedicine Adoption, US Ambulatory Visits, and Total Medical Spending, 2019-2023 - Takeaways - MDSpire

Telemedicine Adoption, US Ambulatory Visits, and Total Medical Spending, 2019-2023

  • By

  • John N. Mafi

  • Sitaram Vangala

  • Jonathan Cantor

  • Melody Craff

  • Manying Cui

  • Artem Romanov

  • Ziyi Li

  • Michelle Rockwell

  • Chi-Hong Tseng

  • Dale Skinner

  • Michael Hadfield

  • A. Mark Fendrick

  • Cheryl L. Damberg

  • Catherine Sarkisian

  • Katherine L. Kahn

  • May 11, 2026

  • 0 min

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  • 1

    The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated telemedicine adoption due to federal policy changes, including payment parity and waived geographic restrictions.

  • 2

    The expiration of the Public Health Emergency in May 2023 raised uncertainty about the future of telemedicine and its associated flexibilities.

  • 3

    Telemedicine may increase healthcare utilization and spending for self-limiting conditions while potentially reducing costs by avoiding high-cost visits.

  • 4

    Studies indicate that telemedicine could exacerbate healthcare disparities, with usage differing by urbanicity and state-level payment mandates.

  • 5

    This cohort study analyzed multipayer claims data to assess telemedicine's impact on visits and spending across various insurance types from 2019 to 2023.

Original Source(s)

Telemedicine Adoption, US Ambulatory Visits, and Total Medical Spending, 2019-2023

  • by John N. Mafi, Sitaram Vangala, Jonathan Cantor, Melody Craff, Manying Cui, Artem Romanov, Ziyi Li, Michelle Rockwell, Chi-Hong Tseng, Dale Skinner, Michael Hadfield, A. Mark Fendrick, Cheryl L. Damberg, Catherine Sarkisian, Katherine L. Kahn

  • May 11, 2026

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