Mental health conditions ranked as the leading telehealth diagnostic category in the first quarter of 2026 for every age group and every U.S. census region, according to new data released Monday by FAIR Health.
The independent nonprofit organization, which maintains one of the nation’s largest repositories of commercial health care claims data, launched its Quarterly Telehealth Regional Tracker with data covering January through March 2026.
“Mental health conditions constituted the top diagnostic category nationally and in every region, both overall and in every age group,” FAIR Health reported. Nationally, 52.1% of patients with a telehealth claim received a mental health diagnosis. The share was lower among the youngest and oldest patients: 26.9% for children ages 0-9 and 22.0% for adults ages 65 and older.
Telehealth utilization grew from the fourth quarter of 2025 to the first quarter of 2026. Nationally, the percentage of medical claim lines involving telehealth rose by 10.1%, from 5.01% to 5.51%. The percentage of patients with at least one telehealth claim increased by 6.3%, from 17.3% to 18.4%.
Growth occurred across all four census regions, with the Northeast showing the largest relative increase in patients with telehealth claims at 7.3%. Urban areas continued to show higher telehealth use than rural areas nationally (18.6% versus 10.3% of patients), though rural areas posted stronger growth during the quarter.
Established patient office or other outpatient services ranked as the top telehealth procedure category nationally and in every region. Psychotherapy services and procedures ranked second.
Overweight and obesity appeared in the national top five diagnostic categories for adults in several age bands, including 19-30, 31-40, and 41-50.
FAIR Health’s new Quarterly Telehealth Regional Tracker replaces its previous monthly version and features interactive maps and infographics for national and regional views. The data exclude Medicare Fee-for-Service, Medicare Advantage, and Medicaid claims and focus on the commercially insured population.
FAIR Health noted that its findings provide objective benchmarks for stakeholders, including insurers, providers, policymakers, and researchers.
The FAIR Health findings come as the United States continues to grapple with a persistent mental health crisis.
According to the latest national data from the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (released in July 2025), more than one in five U.S. adults — 23.4%or 61.5 million people — experienced any mental illness in the past year, while 5.6%, or about 14.6 million adults, had serious mental illness. Among youth, anxiety disorders remain particularly prevalent, with roughly one in five adolescents reporting significant symptoms of anxiety.
Mental health conditions, led by anxiety and depression, consistently rank as the top diagnostic category in telehealth across all age groups.