Insurance Poses Barrier to Virtual Pulmonary Rehabilitation for COPD

THURSDAY, Aug. 27, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Insurance coverage is a major barrier for participation in virtual pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) programs for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a study published in the July issue of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases.

Emily A. Schultz, from Stanford University in California, and colleagues compared characteristics of patients with COPD who were referred to virtual PR and enrolled in the program versus those who did not. The analysis included 278 referred patients.

The researchers found that 22.7 percent of patients either completed or were actively participating in the program, while 8.3 percent who were referred were ineligible and 16.2 percent declined enrollment, with lack of in-network insurance coverage as the most cited reason. The average age of enrolled patients was 76.7 years, and most patients were female (60.3 percent). On average, referred patients had medium social vulnerability, and the average distance to an in-person PR center was 12.6 miles. However, there were no significant differences in social vulnerability, distance to a PR center, language, or race between patients who enrolled and those who did not.

“While virtual PR can help overcome geographic barriers to care, insurance coverage remains a significant and growing barrier for people who could benefit from these services,” senior author Lauren E. Eggert, M.D., from the University of California San Francisco, said in a statement. “Our findings underscore the need to expand reimbursement for telehealth-based pulmonary rehabilitation so that more people with COPD can access this important component of care.” 

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