Telehealth In 2023

The COVID Pandemic changed the employment landscape in many ways. In addition to more flexible work schedules and locations, many employers also adopted telehealth plans in 2020 to help employees access care without leaving home. Various regulations permitted these plans to be offered as excepted benefits (meaning they were not subject to the Affordable Care Act’s market reforms or HIPAA laws) in 2020 and beyond. The end of the Public Health Emergency means this relief for telehealth plans will come to an end. But with the reliance employees have developed for telemedicine, and the efficiency it offers employees and employers alike, what will happen as we continue through 2023?

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 has extended one form of relief past the end of the public health emergency. Under the CAA, plans that offer telehealth to participants enrolled in an HSA eligible high deductible health plan (HDHP) may continue to do so without disrupting employees’ HSA eligibility for plans years beginning after December 31, 2022 and before January 1, 2025.

The Senate has introduced the Telehealth Act of 2023, which, if passed and signed into law, would permanently extend the CAA’s HSA relief noted above.

Forbes reported that in 2021, 37% of all adults in the United States utilized telehealth services, but that number declined and then plateaued in 2022. There are many possible reasons for this, such as physician shortages, and lack of investment in new technology. Forbes also states:

“An American Medical Association (AMA) editorial regarding projected physician shortages of 37,800 and 124,000 by 2034 specifically cites telehealth and the broader use of technology as potential solutions.”

The combination of regulatory action, employer buy-in, and health industry investment in technology can help telehealth thrive as a cost effective, time saving solution for employees in 2023 and beyond.