Is Telemedicine Right for You?

Telemedicine services covered by Medicare

Medicare allows you to receive a number of services from health care providers who offer telemedicine, including evaluation and office visits, mental health counseling, and preventive health screenings. The expanded services also provide access to virtual appointments with medical professionals from a wider range of communication devices, such as your smartphone, tablet, and computer.

Take a few moments and explore your options to access health care providers and advice remotely. To get started, check with your insurance carrier to see what telemedicine options are available on your plan. Many insurance carriers provide additional support for telemedicine in the forms of advice lines and quality indicators. You can also search your preferred app stores to see if your insurance carrier has a mobile app.

There’s a long list of telemedicine preventive services covered at no charge by Medicare Part B and Medicare Advantage plans. Preventive care is just as important as eating healthy and exercising. If your health care provider offers telemedicine services, check with them to see what preventive services can be done remotely.

Telemedicine isn’t the solution for every health care need, but it does offer some great benefits, like reduced waiting times, no transportation time or costs, and avoidance of busy offices.  There’s been a positive response to these benefits and the expanded services. A survey conducted by insurance.com reported a 300% increase in the overall use of telemedicine by seniors since the temporary expansion of services. 43% of those same respondents indicated they’ll continue to use telemedicine on a regular basis in the future whenever possible.

To learn more, read the information provided on the Telehealth page on Medicare.gov.