The Percentage of Patients with a Telehealth Claim Decreased Everywhere Except the West
NEW YORK, Sept. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The age group 19-30 had the highest percentage of patients with a telehealth claim treated for mental health conditions nationally and in every region in the second quarter of 2026, according to FAIR Heath’s Quarterly Telehealth Regional Tracker. For example, at the national level, the overall share of patients with a telehealth claim for a mental health condition was 53.7 percent, but the share for young adults aged 19-30 was 70.9 percent. As in the first quarter of 2026, mental health conditions constituted the top diagnostic category nationally and in every region, both overall and in every age group. The data represent the commercially insured population, excluding Medicare Fee-for-Service, Medicare Advantage and Medicaid.
From first to second quarter, overweight and obesity moved up from ranking third to second among the top five telehealth diagnostic categories nationally and in the Midwest and Northeast, and it remained ranked fifth in the South and West. At the national level, overweight and obesity ranked in the top five in four age groups: 19-30, 31-40, 41-50 and 51-64, up from three age groups in the first quarter.
Percent of Patients with a Telehealth Claim
The percentage of patients with a telehealth claim decreased everywhere except the West from the first to second quarter of 2026. Nationally, the relative decrease was 0.5 percent, from 18.4 percent in the first quarter to 18.3 percent in the second. In the Midwest, the relative decrease was 1.6 percent; in the Northeast, it was 2.6 percent; and in the South, it was 1.2 percent. In the West, the percentage of patients with a telehealth claim increased by a relative 3.1 percent.
Percent of Medical Claim Lines
Telehealth utilization as measured by percent of medical claim lines1 increased everywhere except the Northeast from the first to second quarter of 2026. Nationally, the relative increase was 1.8 percent, from 5.5 percent of medical claim lines in the first quarter to 5.6 percent in the second quarter. The relative increase was 0.3 percent in the Midwest, 1.8 percent in the South and 3.5 percent in the West. In the Northeast, there was a relative decrease of 1.4 percent.
Urban Versus Rural
Telehealth utilization measured as a percentage of patients with a telehealth claim was higher in urban than rural areas nationally and in every region.2 Nationally, 18.5 percent of patients in urban areas had a telehealth claim, compared to 10.2 percent in rural areas. The percentage of patients with a telehealth claim in urban areas showed a relative decrease of 0.6 percent from the first to second quarter of 2026, while in rural areas, the decrease was 1.0 percent.
Top Five Procedure Categories
As in the first quarter of 2026, established patient office or other outpatient services ranked as the number one procedure category nationally and in every region in the second quarter. Psychotherapy services and procedures ranked as the number two procedure category nationally and in every region.
For the Quarterly Telehealth Regional Tracker, click here.
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About FAIR Health
FAIR Health’s mission is to supply objective, unbiased information for all stakeholders to improve healthcare quality, access and affordability. It holds the nation’s largest collection of commercial healthcare claims data, which is growing at a rate of more than five billion validated medical services a year. A national Qualified Entity certified by CMS, FAIR Health also receives all claims for individuals enrolled in traditional Medicare Parts A, B and D. As a testament to its reliability and objectivity, FAIR Health’s data products—including pricing benchmarks and custom analytics—are widely used by commercial insurers and self-insurers, providers, hospitals and healthcare systems, government, researchers and more. FAIR Health has been designated an official data source for state health programs, including workers’ compensation and personal injury protection (PIP) programs, and surprise billing laws that protect consumers. FAIR Health’s free consumer website and mobile app, available in English and Spanish, enable consumers to estimate and plan for their healthcare expenses and offer a rich educational platform on health insurance. The website has been honored by the White House Summit on Smart Disclosure, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), URAC, the eHealthcare Leadership Awards, appPicker, Employee Benefit News and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. FAIR Health is a national, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. For more information on FAIR Health, visit fairhealth.org.
Contact:
Rachel Kent
Executive Director of Communications and Marketing
FAIR Health
646-396-0795
rkent@fairhealth.org
1 A claim line is an individual service or procedure listed on an insurance claim.
2 Each telehealth service was attributed to a rural/urban designation in a region based on the patient’s medical service area, which FAIR Health determines based on the unique geographical pattern of services utilized by the patient.
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SOURCE FAIR Health
