Telehealth

To increase health care accessibility and limit risk of exposure during the COVID-19 pandemic, all fifty states and DC are expanding telehealth access for Medicaid beneficiaries. This issue brief highlights recently released federal guidance to assist Medicaid programs in developing telehealth policies in response to the COVID-19, discusses trends in state Medicaid activity to expand coverage and access to telehealth, and highlights state and federal activity support provider infrastructure and patient access to telehealth.

During COVID-19, incidence and risk of intimate partner violence (IPV) has increased. This post describes some policy options to support IPV survivors and providers.

This brief analyzes the changes to telehealth regulation and implementation made by the federal government, state governments and health systems in response to the COVID-19 emergency. We outline key changes to telemedicine coverage, for Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers.

This issue brief describes how publicly-funded family planning providers are adapting in the COVID-19 pandemic and strategies they have implemented to continue providing quality family planning services while in-person visits are limited.

There has been a proliferation of online services in recent years that seek to offer individuals that cannot make it to a clinic or do not have an established source of care access to some contraceptive methods and STI testing through a telemedicine platform, usually a website or a smartphone application. This data note provides an overview of options available for the online management of sexual and reproductive health services during the coronavirus pandemic and discusses the opportunities and limitations of these platforms in terms of availability and cost.

Medicare has lifted several restrictions on who can receive telehealth and the types of services they can receive via telehealth during the COVID-19 public health emergency. This post discusses the possibilities and limits of telehealth for older adults, based on findings from the latest KFF Health Tracking Poll.

With over 6 million pregnancies per year in the U.S., pregnant and breastfeeding women constitute a significant portion of the population that could be impacted by COVID-19. This brief summarizes what is known thus far about pregnancy and COVID-19.

This brief outlines how telemedicine is currently used in obstetrical care, how these services are financed and regulated, and reviews federal efforts to expand the use of telemedicine, particularly to address maternal health disparities.

New KFF analysis outlines the growing use of telemedicine for contraception, abortion and STI care, including a discussion of insurance coverage of telemedicine services, the financial implications for providers and patients, and its potential to improve access to reproductive health care across the United States. 

This brief presents an overview of telemedicine’s current use in sexual and reproductive health care, and reviews considerations in its coverage, potential to improve access, and financial implications for providers and patients.