{"id":26774,"date":"2020-03-30T12:40:07","date_gmt":"2020-03-30T12:40:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.mtelehealth.com\/?p=26774"},"modified":"2020-03-30T12:40:07","modified_gmt":"2020-03-30T12:40:07","slug":"president-trump-signs-2-trillion-stimulus-package-telehealth-gets-another-boost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drmiltie.com\/at-home-testing\/president-trump-signs-2-trillion-stimulus-package-telehealth-gets-another-boost\/","title":{"rendered":"PRESIDENT TRUMP SIGNS $2 TRILLION STIMULUS PACKAGE; TELEHEALTH GETS ANOTHER BOOST"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The economy is not the only thing getting a boost from the stimulus package passed by Congress today. In an effort to expand access to virtual care during the COVID-19 pandemic, more barriers to telehealth are falling with passage of the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which President Donald Trump signed this afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We believe the bill reflects the scale of challenges we face as a country and recognizes that expanding virtual care is necessary to defeat COVID-19,” said Ann Mond Johnson, MBA, MHA, CEO of ATA<\/strong><\/a>, the industry telemedicine association based in Washington, D.C., in a news release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“All of a sudden people are realizing that telehealth can be an incredible tool to get people access to care, to speed diagnosis, to get them treated if necessary, and to limit the risk of person-to-person exposure and spread of the disease,” said Mond Johnson in an interview with HealthLeaders<\/em> last week. “Finally regulation is beginning to catch up with what the technology can do.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The telehealth provisions in the CARES Act build on the initial Medicare telehealth waiver authorized by Congress and announced by HHS earlier this month, according to ATA. Medicare beneficiaries can now access care when and where they need it during the pandemic, says the release, but the Act also “provides much-needed support to America\u2019s healthcare providers who are migrating patients to virtual care platforms to reduce exposure to COVID-19.” Veterans, rural care, hospice care, and home health services will also benefit from many of the provisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to ATA, the following are among the key provisions<\/a><\/strong> in the Act related to telehealth:<\/p>\n\n\n\n