Diabetes Entered Top Five Telehealth Diagnostic Categories in Midwest and West in May for First Time in 2025

NEW YORK, Aug. 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- In May 2025, the percentage of patients with a telehealth claim increased nationally and in all four US census regions, according to FAIR Health's Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker. Nationally, that percentage increased from 14.2 percent of patients in April to 14.3 percent in May, a 0.8 percent rise. In May, the West had the largest share of patients with a telehealth claim, at 18.7 percent, and the Midwest had the smallest share, at 10.8 percent. The data represent the commercially insured population, excluding Medicare Fee-for-Service, Medicare Advantage and Medicaid.

From April to May, changes in utilization as measured by telehealth claim lines¹ varied. Nationally, telehealth claim lines fell from 5.01 percent of medical claim lines in April to 4.96 percent in May, a decrease of 1.0 percent. In the South, the decrease was 1.7 percent. In all other regions, there was an increase, from 0.4 percent in the West to 3.1 percent in the Northeast.

Diagnostic Categories

In May 2025, diabetes mellitus entered the top five telehealth diagnostic categories in the Midwest and West for the first time in 2025. In the Midwest, this diagnostic category entered in fifth position, displacing overweight and obesity; in the West, it entered in fourth position, displacing acute respiratory diseases and infections, which fell to the fifth rank, supplanting sleep disorders. In the South, diabetes fell off the list from fifth position, replaced by encounter for examination.

In May, mental health conditions remained in first position nationally and in every region, though the percentage of patients with a telehealth claim for this diagnostic category decreased nationally and in all regions. Nationally, it fell from 63.0 percent in April to 62.1 percent in May.

Urban versus Rural

In May 2025, as in April, telehealth utilization was higher in urban than rural areas nationally and in every region.² Nationally, 14.5 percent of patients in urban areas had a telehealth claim, compared to 7.5 percent in rural areas. The largest difference occurred in the West, where the percentage of urban patients using telehealth (18.8 percent) was 2.4 times the percentage of rural patients (7.9 percent). The smallest difference was found in the Northeast, where the percentage of patients in urban areas using telehealth (16.7 percent) was 1.5 times the percentage of patients in rural areas using telehealth (11.4 percent).

Age Distribution

In May 2025, as in April, the age groups 19-30 and 31-40 accounted for the largest percentages of patients with a telehealth claim nationally and in every region. Nationally in May, the age group 31-40 (22.8 percent) displaced the age group 19-30 (22.4 percent) as the age group with the largest percentage of patients having a telehealth claim. The same shift happened in the Northeast and South, though in the Midwest and West, the age group 19-30 still had the largest percentage of patients with a telehealth claim. Nationally and in every region, the age groups 0-9 and 65 and older accounted for the smallest shares (less than 10 percent each) of patients with a telehealth claim.

Procedure Categories

In May 2025, psychotherapy services and procedures, and established patient office or other outpatient services (including those for mental health conditions), were, as in April, the top two procedure categories nationally and in every region. The order of the two varied: In May, established patient office or other outpatient services ranked first nationally (at 47.7 percent of patients with a telehealth claim) and in the South and West, while psychotherapy services and procedures ranked first in the Midwest and Northeast. In April, established patient office or other outpatient services ranked second nationally (47.48 percent), while psychotherapy services and procedures (47.49 percent) ranked first.

About the Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker

Launched in May 2020 as a free service, the Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker uses FAIR Health data to track how telehealth is evolving from month to month. An interactive map of the four US census regions allows the user to view an infographic on telehealth in a specific month in the nation as a whole or in individual regions. Each year, the infographic introduces varied views into telehealth utilization. In this sixth iteration of the Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker, each infographic shows month-to-month changes in telehealth utilization, both through telehealth's percentage of medical claim lines and percent of patients with a telehealth claim; that month's top five diagnostic categories; top five procedure categories; age distribution, which captures the percentage of patients within each age group with a telehealth claim; and urban versus rural telehealth usage.

For the Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker, click here.

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About FAIR Health

FAIR Health is a national, independent nonprofit organization that qualifies as a public charity under section 501(c)(3) of the federal tax code. It is dedicated to bringing transparency to healthcare costs and health insurance information through data products, consumer resources and health systems research support. FAIR Health possesses the nation's largest collection of commercial healthcare claims data, which includes over 51 billion claim records and is growing at a rate of about 4 billion claim records a year. FAIR Health licenses its commercial data and data products—including benchmark modules, data visualizations, custom analytics and market indices—to commercial insurers and self-insurers, employers, providers, hospitals and healthcare systems, government agencies, researchers and others. Certified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as a national Qualified Entity, FAIR Health also receives data representing the experience of all individuals enrolled in traditional Medicare Parts A, B and D, which accounts for a separate collection of over 51 billion claim records; FAIR Health includes among the commercial claims data in its database, data on Medicare Advantage enrollees. FAIR Health can produce insightful analytic reports and data products based on combined Medicare and commercial claims data for government, providers, payors and other authorized users. FAIR Health's systems for processing and storing protected health information have earned HITRUST CSF certification and achieved AICPA SOC 2 Type 2 compliance by meeting the rigorous data security requirements of these standards. As a testament to the reliability and objectivity of FAIR Health data, the data have been incorporated in statutes and regulations around the country and designated as the official, neutral data source for a variety of state health programs, including workers' compensation and personal injury protection (PIP) programs. FAIR Health data serve as an official reference point in support of certain state balance billing laws that protect consumers against bills for surprise out-of-network and emergency services. FAIR Health also uses its database to power a free consumer website available in English and Spanish, which enables consumers to estimate and plan for their healthcare expenditures and offers a rich educational platform on health insurance. An English/Spanish mobile app offers the same educational platform in a concise format and links to the cost estimation tools. 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. 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