U.S. telehealth claim lines increased 4,347 percent among privately insured individuals from March 2019 to March 2020, according to data released June 2 from FAIR Health.

In response to the pandemic, Phoenix-based Valleywise Health built a telemedicine program from the ground up, facilitating more than 20,000 virtual visits and spurring benefits that will pave the way for future expansion.

The number of CMS beneficiaries has grown from 12,000 weekly telehealth visits to "well into six figures" during the pandemic, and both President Donald Trump and CMS Administrator Seema Verma aim to continue those benefits.

The acceleration of telehealth adoption among consumers and providers has pushed virtual care beyond urgent care services and laid a framework for up to $250 billion of U.S. healthcare spending to be virtualized, according to a recent McKinsey report. 

While the shift to telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the physician-patient relationship from in-person to virtual, the experience has also ushered in unexpected human benefits, according to Dave Chokshi, MD.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic became widespread in the U.S., most healthcare industry experts predicted telemedicine would be one of the top healthcare sectors in 2020, according to a recent Venrock report.

San Diego launched Verizon's new 5G wireless network in certain parts of the city May 28 to help healthcare providers conduct telehealth care more efficiently.

UPMC Health will continue to provide $0 cost-sharing for telehealth through the end of September, according to a report from a WETM 18, the local NBC affiliate.

The Federal Communications Commission approved its eighth wave of COVID-19 telehealth program applications, granting $68.22 million to healthcare providers nationwide.

The Rhode Island Senate Health and Human Services Committee on May 27 advanced a bill that would permanently require payers to cover telemedicine services, according to local CBS affiliate WPRI.