Impact of Telehealth Payment Parity on Care for Dementia Risk Workers
Author Information
Author(s): Zhang Zhang
Primary Institution: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Hypothesis
Does telehealth payment parity affect the use of recommended care services and emergency department visits among workers with high-risk factors for dementia?
Conclusion
Telehealth payment parity effectively boosted psychotherapy usage and reduced emergency department visits for mental health disorders.
Supporting Evidence
- Telehealth payment parity significantly increased psychotherapy visits by 0.2208 visits per quarter.
- Tele-psychotherapy visits increased by 0.4107 visits per quarter.
- Emergency department visits among those with mental health disorders decreased by 0.003 visits per quarter, a 25% relative decrease.
Takeaway
Making telehealth services paid the same as in-person visits helps more people get therapy and visit the emergency room less.
Methodology
Causal inference design with a two-way fixed-effect difference-in-differences approach using claims data from 2019 to 2021.
Limitations
The policy did not significantly enhance the uptake of preventive care counseling for cardiometabolic risks.
Participant Demographics
Insured workers with mental health disorders or cardiometabolic risks.
Statistical Information
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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