{"id":27151,"date":"2020-05-01T13:58:28","date_gmt":"2020-05-01T13:58:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.mtelehealth.com\/?p=27151"},"modified":"2020-05-01T13:58:28","modified_gmt":"2020-05-01T13:58:28","slug":"covid-19-cms-issues-telehealth-guidance-for-state-medicaid-and-chip-programs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drmiltie.com\/at-home-testing\/covid-19-cms-issues-telehealth-guidance-for-state-medicaid-and-chip-programs\/","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19: CMS Issues Telehealth Guidance for State Medicaid and CHIP Programs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On April 23, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the \u201cState Medicaid & CHIP Telehealth Toolkit: Policy Considerations for States Expanding Use of Telehealth<\/a>\u201d (the Toolkit). Telehealth allows patients to receive necessary health care services without risking the spread of COVID-19 through in-person interactions. The Toolkit is one of several guidance documents CMS has issued to expand use of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. As discussed previously<\/a>, CMS has expanded coverage of telehealth services for all Medicare beneficiaries, allowing practitioners to treat patients (whether new or established) via telehealth, and allowing telephone only services in various circumstances. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, because federal and state governments dually fund Medicaid as a state-administered program, and each state designs its own program (subject to CMS approval for federal funding), it is not practical for CMS to issue sweeping waivers on telehealth services applicable to all states. Medicaid covers 71 million Americans, including 35 million children, and Medicaid may become an even more important safety net due to the economic implications of the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, the Toolkit aims to help states expand Medicaid telehealth coverage by identifying existing state policies that may impede the use of telehealth. Below we summarize some key points from the Toolkit, but refer interested parties to review the Toolkit in full.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Toolkit describes telehealth as a \u201cmix of four interrelated domains\u201d and provides questions that states should consider for each domain in order to minimize barriers to telehealth utilization. The four domains include: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Populations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The population to whom service is being delivered. States may have policies in place that limit telehealth coverage to certain populations like residents of rural areas, for instance. States have the flexibility to cover telehealth services across patient populations. The Toolkit directs states to consider the following questions, among others, when assessing policies that restrict the population who have access to telehealth:<\/p>\n\n\n\n