Increased Wellness and Economic Return of Universal Broadband Infrastructure

This report examines 10 counties in rural Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi to explore how the costs of achieving true digital equity—by extending robust broadband infrastructure into areas missing it—can be offset by utilizing the potential of telehealth to improve healthcare delivery. To do so, this report first identifies the most common health issues affecting residents in these 10 counties and draws on an academic scholarship to demonstrate the benefits that could come from effective telehealth interventions for each. It models the cost savings that can be gained from telehealth interventions in reducing the cost of services that are driving the highest costs today. These include preventable hospital admissions, preventable hospital readmissions, and preventable emergency department visits. The results are striking by themselves, but even more so together. By the most reasonable conservative estimates, we show that preventable emergency department visits, preventable hospital admissions and readmissions, and lost economic productivity offer huge savings opportunities for these ten counties, totaling almost $43 million each year.