Abstract
Background:
We examine trends in telemedicine use by race, geography, and age among Louisiana Medicaid beneficiaries in the months preceding the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods:
Using Louisiana Medicaid claims data from January 2018 through February 2020, we calculated a relative ratio of telemedicine use as the share of telemedicine claims by race, age, and geography and conducted two-sample t-tests.
Results:
In 2018, White beneficiaries used telemedicine at a relative ratio of 1.92 compared with Black beneficiaries (p < 0.001) and 2.02 compared with Hispanic beneficiaries (p < 0.001). Rural beneficiaries used telemedicine at a relative ratio of 1.27 (p < 0.001) compared with urban beneficiaries. Children and adolescents used telemedicine at a higher rate than other age groups. Racial and geographic disparities narrowed in the first months of 2020.
Conclusions:
Telemedicine use in Louisiana Medicaid was low but growing before the pandemic with narrowing disparities by race and geography and emerging disparities by age.
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