The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced it is adding 11 new telehealth services that Medicare will reimburse. This is the first addition to the Medicare telehealth services list since May 1, 2020. Per CMS, Medicare will begin paying eligible caregivers who furnish these newly added telehealth services — effective immediately — […]
In September we wrote about the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) releasing its proposed 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. The proposed rule notably included several proposals to make permanent, extend, or transition out of COVID-19 flexibilities issued by the agency. This was especially true in the telehealth space. Other areas of interest included changes to evaluation and […]
Welcome to Telehealth Roundup, highlighting news and features about emerging trends in telemedicine and telehealth. Outpatient Visits Rebound Outpatient visits per week have rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, but not for all providers and patients, a new Commonwealth Fund report showed. In total, weekly outpatient visit counts have slightly exceeded pre-pandemic levels, but varied by patient age, geographic […]
Eleven new services have been added to the list of telehealth services reimbursed by Medicare fee-for-service during the COVID-19 health emergency, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Wednesday. Many of the new services involve cardiovascular care, including intensive cardiac rehabilitation with and without exercise, pulmonary rehab with exercise, and in-person ventricular assist device interrogation. Certain […]
On October 14, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it has expanded its list of telehealth services approved for Medicare beneficiaries during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE). The eleven telehealth services CMS just added are for cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation. CMS approved them using an expedited process it unveiled in a May […]
As telehealth transitions from a nice-to-have benefit to an essential form of care delivery, payers will have to make some adjustments in order to permanently integrate telehealth coverage expansions. October 16, 2020 – Telehealth is metamorphosing and payers will have to take steps in order to permanently integrate telehealth coverage as a key form of care delivery. […]
Telehealth programs that include the caregiver in the care management process stand a better chance of improving outcomes and quality of life. October 16, 2020 – Telehealth programs are so focused on connecting the patient with the provider that they sometimes forget about the other person in the room: the caregiver. And that’s a problem. Family members […]
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar believes that COVID-19 has led to a health care revolution, one that will include a larger focus on care in the home. Specifically, Azar thinks the increase in telehealth usage and a stronger focus on social determinants of health will be major influences in […]
Telehealth will be a cornerstone of future health care policy following the COVID-19 pandemic, with Medicare Advantage plans as one engine for growth. Expansion of telehealth services across the health care continuum accelerated rapidly due to efforts to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus. These developments will likely shape health care for years to […]
CMS has added 11 services to Medicare’s telehealth reimbursement list for the duration of the pandemic and released new resources for state Medicaid and CHIP programs looking to expand their connected health offerings. By Eric Wicklund October 15, 2020 – The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has announced that 11 more telehealth services will qualify for Medicare […]
CMS on Oct. 14 added 11 new services to the list of telehealth services that Medicare will reimburse during the COVID-19 public health emergency. The Trump administration announced March 17 that CMS will temporarily pay clinicians to provide telehealth services for beneficiaries during the pandemic. Since the public health emergency began, CMS has added more than 135 […]
More than 30 members of Congress have sent a letter to CMS Administrator Seema Verma asking her to expand COVID-19 telehealth coverage for audiology and speech-language pathology services. By Eric Wicklund October 13, 2020 – The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is again facing calls to expand telehealth coverage for audiology and speech-language pathology during the coronavirus […]
By Robert Holly | October 8, 2020 Hospital admissions across the U.S. fell dramatically in spring with the onset of the COVID-19 virus. That sudden drop, in turn, caused patient volumes to plummet for home health providers that work primarily with acute referral sources. While hospital admissions rebounded in summer, they remain far below pre-pandemic levels, according to […]
CMS’s Medicare Advantage preview from September revealed that 738 plans are offering supplemental benefits under the “primarily health-related” pathway in 2021, a 46% increase compared to the nearly 500 plans that did so in 2020. The preview similarly showed that 920 plans are offering benefits under the Special Supplemental Benefits for the Chronically Ill (SSBCI) […]
The eHealth Initiative has released a list of policy recommendations designed to improve telehealth adoption and coverage during and after the coronavirus pandemic. By Eric Wicklund October 09, 2020 – The eHealth Initiative has unveiled recommendations for federal policy changes to help expand telehealth access and coverage during and beyond the coronavirus pandemic. The 22-page report comes roughly a […]