Virtual Care Visits Are Up. The Money Isn't.

Telehealth encounters rose 79% since 2019, but reimbursement gaps leave health systems absorbing costs on one of medicine's fastest-growing services

17 Jun 2026

Telehealth adoption has reached a decisive threshold in American healthcare, yet financial sustainability remains elusive for most health systems. Strata Decision Technology released findings on June 4, 2026, showing virtual care encounters climbed 79 percent between January 2019 and January 2026, a shift analysts say reflects the mainstreaming of remote medicine. Margins, meanwhile, hover near break-even. Unreimbursed virtual services and rising operational costs press against already strained budgets, leaving organizations caught between surging patient demand and an economic model that has yet to catch up.

Workforce shortages are driving much of this acceleration. Hospitals are deploying telehealth and remote patient monitoring not merely as conveniences but as structural responses to staffing gaps. Expanding access in underserved regions is an additional force pushing adoption forward.

Reimbursement policy has not kept pace with clinical reality. Many virtual care encounters still go unpaid or are compensated at rates far below in-person equivalents, leaving organizations absorbing substantial costs. That mismatch creates a paradox: patient demand and clinical necessity justify continued growth, yet the underlying economics discourage deeper investment.

Steve Wasson, Chief Data and Intelligence Officer at Strata Decision Technology, framed the pressure plainly: "Healthcare organizations are increasingly turning to technology and new care delivery models to address workforce shortages and improve patient access." For vendors supplying health technology and for payers setting reimbursement schedules, the findings carry direct commercial weight. Those that align products with measurable cost savings stand to capture growing procurement budgets, while payers face mounting pressure to revise virtual care policies before provider attrition erodes the access gains telehealth has already produced.

Patients have already signaled their preference. Remote consultations are being embraced at record levels, a behavioral shift that has, according to the data, proved durable across demographic groups. Closing the reimbursement gap could convert one of healthcare's most promising care models into a financially stable pillar of everyday medicine, a development that may ultimately shape federal and state coverage policy in the years ahead.