1037-P: Telehealth Use among Medicare Beneficiaries with Diabetes—2020–2023

Introduction & Objectives: Telehealth use increased among Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. To determine whether these changes have persisted, we examined monthly telehealth use from 01/2020 to 02/2023. Methods: Using 100% Medicare 2020-2023 claims, we identified beneficiaries with diabetes using International Classification of Diseases codes (E10, E11) and examined their use of telehealth eligible services (TES). We defined telehealth users as beneficiaries who accessed a TES through telehealth. We calculated the monthly percentage of telehealth use (the number of telehealth users divided by the number of TES users) overall and by race/ethnicity, age, sex, rurality, and clinician specialty. Results: Telehealth use among Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes who used TES increased from ≤10% per month prior to the pandemic to ≥ 40% in March 2020. The percentage gradually decreased with some fluctuations but has stabilized around 27% since March 2022. Although this trend was similar across groups by race/ethnicity, age, sex, and rurality, level of telehealth use varied by race/ethnicity, age, sex, rurality, and clinician specialty (Figure). Conclusions: Telehealth use has stabilized at more than twice the pre-COVID pandemic level, implying that telehealth has been integrated as a part of routine diabetes care in older U.S. adults.