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Last updated: 7/23/2026

Telemedicine is the use of technology, such as phones, computers, or video calls, to provide medical care from a distance. Telehealth is a broader term that includes telemedicine as well as other health-related services, such as:

• Remote monitoring of patients' health conditions;
• Online patient education and health information;
• "Store-and-forward" technology, which allows medical information—such as images, test results, or clinical notes—to be sent electronically from one health care provider to another without both providers being available at the same time.

Telehealth can offer several benefits compared to in-person care, including:

• Greater convenience for patients;
• Better access to care, especially for people in rural areas, underserved communities, or those with mobility challenges;
• Reduced exposure to contagious illnesses;
• Possible cost savings for patients and providers.

However, telehealth also has some limitations, including:

• Less continuity of care when patients see different providers for virtual visits;
• Fewer opportunities to build strong relationships between patients and providers;
• The possibility of unnecessary or inappropriate use of services because of payment structures or other issues within the health care system.

The effect of telehealth on overall health care spending is still unclear. While telehealth can make care more convenient and may reduce some costs, it does not always lower total health care spending. In some cases, easier access to care may lead to more medical visits and services. If telehealth replaces ongoing relationships with a patient's regular doctor, it may also make care less coordinated and increase the need for more expensive specialty or emergency care.

Telehealth use during the COVID-19 pandemic as patients and providers looked for safe ways to receive and deliver care. Temporary changes to Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance rules expanded coverage and payment for telehealth services. As a result, telehealth became widely used for primary care, mental health services, and chronic disease management. Although use has declined from its pandemic peak, telehealth of health care delivery.

Telehealth services have existed in the United States , when programs supported by agencies such as NASA and the Department of Defense were used to provide medical care in remote locations. Advances in internet access, smartphones, and digital health technologies later into additional areas of care, including behavioral health, specialty care, and remote patient monitoring. and policymakers also adopted laws and programs that helped support telehealth growth.

Supporters of telehealth point to improved access and convenience for patients. However, concerns remain about care coordination, patient privacy, the quality of care delivered through telehealth, and whether expanded use could increase overall health care spending. While providers, insurers, and patients generally support continued access to telehealth services, researchers and policymakers its long-term effects on quality, utilization, and costs.

State insurance regulators continue to monitor telehealth as part of their broader oversight of health insurance markets. Telehealth-related issues may be considered through the work of the 91¸£Àû's Health Insurance and Managed Care (B) Committee and its related task forces and working groups, particularly when evaluating access to care, affordability, consumer protections, health equity, and other emerging health care issues.

State insurance departments are responsible for regulating health insurance products and enforcing state laws governing insurance coverage. As telehealth continues to evolve, regulators monitor issues such as coverage requirements, payment policies, consumer access to care, provider networks, and the impact of new care delivery models on health insurance markets. Regulators also evaluate how telehealth may affect health care costs, quality of care, and outcomes for consumers.

The 91¸£Àû has also examined the role telehealth may play in improving access to care for underserved populations. in support of the Health Innovations (B) Working Group (now the Health Care Affordability and Mitigation (B) Working Group) found that telehealth has the potential to expand access to health care services, including by connecting individuals in rural or underserved communities with health care professionals and reducing transportation barriers to care. At the same time, regulators continue to monitor concerns related to continuity of care, consumer protections, privacy, and health equity as telehealth services become a more permanent part of the health care system. Telehealth also raises important questions about the privacy and security of consumer health information. State insurance regulators continue to monitor these issues, including through the work of the 91¸£Àû's Privacy Protections (H) Working Group.