Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39135532›Full record

ArticleHealth services research2024

The impact of telehealth cost-sharing on healthcare utilization: Evidence from high-deductible health plans.

Risha Gidwani, Veronica Yank, Lane Burgette, Aaron Kofner, Steven M Asch, Zachary Wagner

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Health services research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Risha GidwaniEconomics, Sociology, and Statistics (ESS), RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, California, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-3548-2332
Veronica YankSchool of Medicine, University of California San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco, California, USA.
Lane BurgetteEconomics, Sociology, and Statistics (ESS), RAND Corporation, Arlington, Virginia, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-5945-1760
Aaron KofnerEconomics, Sociology, and Statistics (ESS), RAND Corporation, Arlington, Virginia, USA.
Steven M AschDepartment of Medicine at Stanford, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, USA.
Zachary WagnerEconomics, Sociology, and Statistics (ESS), RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, California, USA.

Funding

High Deductible Health Plans and Receipt of Recommended Medical CareR01AG072057 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · PI MARSZOWSKI, RISHA GIDWANI · 2022 to 2025
$2.9M
NIA NIH HHS R01 AG072057NIA NIH HHS R01AGO72057
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveEvaluate whether cost-sharing decreases led high-deductible health plans (HDHP) enrollees to increase their use of healthcare. DATA SOURCES, STUDY

settingNational sample of chronically-ill patients age 18-64 from 2018 to 2020 (n = 1,318,178). STUDY

designDifference-in-differences analyses using entropy-balancing weights were used to evaluate the effect of a policy shift to $0 cost-sharing for telehealth on utilization for HDHP compared with non-HDHP enrollees. Due to this shock, HDHP enrollees experienced substantial declines in cost-sharing for telehealth, while non-HDHP enrollees experienced small declines. Event study models were also used to evaluate changes over time. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION

methodsOutcomes included use of any outpatient care; use of $0 telehealth; use of $0 telehealth as a proportion of all outpatient care; and use of any telehealth. To test whether any differences were due to preferences for care modality versus cost-sharing, we further evaluated use of non-$0 telehealth as a placebo test. PRINCIPAL

findingsThere was no difference in change in overall outpatient visits (p = 0.84), with chronicall-ill HDHP enrollees using less care both before and after the policy shift. However, compared with non-HDHP enrollees, HDHP enrollees increased their use of $0 telehealth by 0.08 visits over a 9-month period, a 27% increase (95% CI 0.07-0.09, p < 0.001) and shifted 1.2 percentage points more of their care to $0 telehealth, a 15% increase (ß = 0.01, 95% CI 0.01, 0.01, p < 0.001). However, HDHP enrollees had lower uptake of non-$0 telehealth than non-HDHP enrollees (ß = -0.01, 95%CI -0.02, 0.00, p = 0.04).

conclusionsRecent-but-expiring federal legislation exempts telehealth from HDHP deductibles for care provided in 2023 and 2024. Our results indicate that extending the protections provided by this legislation could help reduce the gap in access to care for chronically-ill persons enrolled in HDHPs.

Indexed as

Cost SharingDeductibles and CoinsurancePatient Acceptance of Health CareTelemedicineAdolescentAdultChronic DiseaseFemaleHumansInsurance, HealthMaleMiddle AgedUnited StatesYoung Adultcost‐sharinghigh‐deductible health planstelehealth

Identifiers

PMID39135532
PMCPMC11622258

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.