A fourth year into the pandemic, its effects have hospices continuing to combat against financial and operational headwinds, as well as uncertainty about the future of telehealth rules. The COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) is likely to endure past another extension. Currently set to expire Jan. 11, 2023, the U.S. Department of Health & Human […]
Only 15 percent of patients who were eligible for Medicare fee-for-service telehealth used the service in the second quarter of 2022, according to a Dec. 15 telehealth utilization report from CMS. CMS analyzed data from Medicare Fee-for-Service Part B claims data and Medicare enrollment information for beneficiaries who utilized telehealth services between January 1, 2020, and June […]
CHICAGO – As the new year approaches, the American Medical Association (AMA) is offering 10 recommendations to help Americans make the most impactful, long-lasting improvements to their health in 2023 and beyond. “Many people kick off the start of each new year with big-picture health resolutions—ambitious, immediate lifestyle changes that are very difficult to maintain,” […]
CONTENTS How will this Toolkit help me? This Toolkit will help you: Telehealth Integration and Optimization Toolkit Improve patient care through virtual health care delivery. Get the Toolkit (PDF) Introduction Before the COVID-19 pandemic, an aging population, geographic and sociodemographic disparities in access to care, and health care professional workforce shortages drove the desire for virtual […]
Two House members said that congress is trying to expand Medicare’s virtual flexibilities beyond the public health emergency, NextGov reported Dec. 14. “Unfortunately, it took a global pandemic for us to realize the larger benefits of telehealth and really introduce telehealth into traditional Medicare,” said Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., House Energy and Commerce Committee ranking member. Lawmakers […]
In anticipation of critical telehealth flexibilities expiring on Dec. 31, US Representatives Michelle Steel (CA-48), Brad Schneider (IL-10), and Susie Lee (NV-3), along with a bipartisan group of 30 Congress members, sent a letter requesting that House leadership include two pieces of legislation that extend some flexibilities in a year-end package. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, patients […]
After the COVID-19 pandemic changed telehealth, expanding access to the digital health care under temporary emergency policies, two House members said that congressional efforts are trying to expand Medicare’s virtual flexibilities beyond temporary pandemic efforts at an Axios event on Wednesday. According to CDC data from October, approximately 37% of adults in the U.S. used telemedicine in […]
When the current public health emergency ends, so do many of the waivers put in place to help providers through the pandemic. Telehealth is the big exception, getting an additional 151 days before a loss of flexibilities such as the ability for patients to get virtual care from their home. Congressional action is needed, and lawmakers are […]
A letter organized by the Alliance to Fight for Health Care and signed by over 350 health care stakeholders urged Congress to extend the telehealth provision allowing employers to offer telehealth services pre-deductible to qualifying employees, according to mHealth Intelligence. The American Telemedicine Association, One Medical, and Blue Cross Blue Shield Association are among the group […]
On November 2, 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the CY 2023 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule (Final Rule), which will take effect January 1, 2023. The Final Rule includes noteworthy updates regarding billing and reimbursement for services provided via telehealth, providing practitioners with some guidance on navigating the transition away from […]
When it comes to telehealth, the stereotype is that it is something preferred and used by younger people. But a survey of adult behavior by Independa, a health care technology company, found that adults over 70 had a high comfort level with telehealth and preferred having it as an option. Of those surveyed, 93% of adults […]
As medicine continues its digital shift, new billing codes are being added next year for specialties like remote therapeutic monitoring and digital ophthalmology. “The [Current Procedural Terminology] code set does move at the pace of medicine, and it continues to evolve and keep pace with all of the changes,” said Leslie Prellwitz, the American Medical […]
WASHINGTON, DC – As the legislative session comes to a close, the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) is calling on members of Congress to include the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act (H.R. 3173/S. 3018), the Supporting Medicare Providers Act of 2022 (H.R. 8800), and telehealth protections in any year-end legislative package. With overwhelming bipartisan support for the Improving Seniors Timely […]
Physician adoption of digital health tools continues to grow, as does the infrastructure facilitating appropriate payment for their use. The Current Procedural Terminology (CPT®) code set, often called “the language of medicine,” is expanding to meet the demand. “The CPT code set does move at the pace of medicine, and it continues to evolve and keep pace with […]
In communities that otherwise would lack access to care, essential hospitals reach outside their walls to meet patients’ needs. Telehealth services have proved to be an important tool in the provider arsenal to increase access to care for underserved populations. The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need for flexibility to provide patient-centered care that best […]
