The COVID-19 pandemic has had a lasting impact on health insurance trends, reshaping how coverage is delivered, accessed, and valued. One of the most significant long-term shifts has been the increased adoption of telehealth, which led insurers to expand coverage for virtual care. What started as a temporary response to lockdowns has now become a core offering. A McKinsey report noted that telehealth utilization was 38 times higher in 2021 than before the pandemic, with many insurers now including virtual visits in standard plans (https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/healthcare/our-insights/telehealth-a-post-covid-19-reality). Another key trend is the growing focus on value-based care and preventative services. Insurers have started to shift from volume-based reimbursement models to those that emphasize outcomes, partly due to the need for better chronic disease management during the pandemic. Additionally, there's been a spike in interest in mental health coverage, as COVID-19 highlighted gaps in behavioral health support. According to a KFF study, nearly four in ten adults in the U.S. reported symptoms of anxiety or depression during the pandemic, compared to about one in ten pre-COVID (https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/the-implications-of-covid-19-for-mental-health-and-substance-use/). Finally, I've observed a shift toward digital-first insurance models, with companies streamlining claims, enrollment, and member services through apps and portals. This shift reflects both consumer expectations and the need for operational efficiency in a post-COVID world. Overall, the pandemic acted as a catalyst, accelerating trends that might have otherwise taken years to materialize.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased health insurance claims, resulting in higher premiums for policyholders. Even though COVID-related hospitalizations and spending aren't as high as they were at the beginning of the pandemic, spending is still up. COVID is still an additional illness that results in health insurance claims. Telehealth coverage has been a long-term difference since the COVID pandemic. During stay-at-home orders, many people had no choice but to participate in telehealth. Insurance companies started covering these appointments temporarily. Most insurance providers have decided to continue to cover telehealth visits.
Affordable Care Act marketplace plan premiums skyrocketed after pandemic-era subsidies expired. Millions of Americans would get a tax credit for paid family leave under the Democrats' budget plan. The median proposed rate increases for 2026 are coming in at 15%, the highest in seven years. This escalation could be for a number of reasons, including soaring health care costs, new, high-cost pharmaceuticals, and staff shortages. As a result, more than half of employers plan to shift more health care costs to workers in 2026, up from 45% last year, by, for example, raising deductibles or out-of-pocket maximums. The pandemic also accelerated the use of telehealth services, with use rates ending much higher than they were before the pandemic. For example, the share of patients who used telehealth increased from 11% in 2019 to about 46% in 2021. That change has driven sustained demand for virtual care and persuaded insurers and providers to include telehealth as a standard option. Mental health problems — and demand for services — have been thrust into the spotlight as the pandemic rages. Roughly 4 out of every 10 adults in the United States were reporting symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder, up from 1 in 10 adults at the same time last year. In response, the health insurance industry is rethinking what will be covered in mental health. Recent laws, such as the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," that have added more onerous income verification requirements for everyone receiving Medicaid and ACA subsidies are expected to result in additional member disenrollment and higher administrative costs. These changes may be too much for already underfunded state Medicaid bureaus to absorb, leaving millions uninsured by 2034. To control the escalating costs of healthcare, many employers are shifting to HDHPs that shift a greater portion of the healthcare costs onto employees.