Issue Briefs
As the number of telehealth services increased during the COVID-19 public health emergency, so did concerns that such expansion may lead to an increase in fraud and abuse, particularly within the Medicare program. To ascertain whether this increase has been associated with the unnecessary or excessive use of healthcare, health policy researchers from IMPAQ, Index Analytics, and AIR reviewed the accuracy of claims that increased use of telehealth is likely to increase fraud and abuse.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, our health system is under increasing pressure: Public health departments have insufficient staff to address population needs. Especially in communities with significant socioeconomic disparities, health care personnel are overwhelmed both physically and mentally, and social distancing guidelines have impacted access to care. As a result, reliance on community health workers in the prevention, testing, and treatment of COVID-19 has dramatically accelerated. As the pandemic continues to hinder in-person access to care, it is important to understand how community health workers can fill critical gaps during the pandemic to reduce the number of COVID-19 infections and prevent unnecessary deaths.
In this issue brief, IMPAQ researchers used nationally representative data to compare past-month food insecurity between individuals who identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or something else (LGB) and non-LGB adults, and also examine the characteristics associated with a heightened risk of food insecurity among the LGB population.
In this issue brief, researchers from IMPAQ and the Weitzman Institute explore COVID-19 prevalence and mortality rates in counties designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration as Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Areas.
The expansion of telehealth has rapidly accelerated since the start of COVID-19. Researchers from IMPAQ and the American Institutes for Research explore why and how telehealth expansion must be designed with a focus on reducing disparities and advancing health equity.
