Federal Agencies
Recognizing and Testing Telehealth Models in Oncology Care First
Introduction to the Quality Outlook: Cancer and COVID-19 – Looking Ahead to Telehealth Post-Pandemic Mini-Series Tom Valuck, MD, JD—Blog Editor The pandemic has dramatically impacted cancer care, leading to a reduction in preventive care, alterations and delays in treatment, and suspension of some clinical trials. Certain cancers, including lung cancer and leukemia and lymphomas, have ranked among the top […]
More states require telehealth coverage going into 2021
Several states passed recent laws that would require commercial insurance plans to cover more telehealth services on a permanent basis. More states now require health plans to pay the same amount for telehealth as in-person visits. By ELISE REUTER / Feb 9, 2021 at 4:40 PM As emergency measures have greatly expanded patients’ access to virtual care […]
Benefiting Permanently from Telehealth’s Transformation by COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic transformed telehealth by creating a sudden imperative for remote delivery of medical care to the benefit of patients and providers alike. That transformation has catapulted telehealth and its many benefits to the forefront of mainstream medicine. The challenge now: Make those benefits permanent and expand them further to improve value in care […]
FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel Prioritizes Visits to Hospitals in Telehealth Push
February 7, 2021 – Federal Communications Commission Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on Tuesday made a visit to Children’s National Hospital, and a virtual visit to the University of Virginia, to emphasize the agency’s goals of investing in telehealth strategies, with a specific emphasis on serving marginalized communities, veterans, and low-income patients. Rosenworcel acknowledged that more needs to […]
AMGA PRESSES CONGRESS ON 2021 PRIORITIES
AMGA president and CEO calls on Congress to act on several of the organization’s priorities, including coronavirus vaccination and promotion of telemedicine. KEY TAKEAWAYS In 2021, Congress should provide $100 billion in pandemic relief to healthcare providers, AMGA President and CEO Jerry Penso says. Congress should extend the moratorium on Medicare sequestration cuts through the […]
Telehealth Update: Extension of the Public Health Emergency, OIG Workplan Updates, and the Protecting Access to Post-COVID 19 Telehealth Act
As we’ve discussed in previous posts, since the beginning of the pandemic, telehealth providers have seen a dramatic increase in demand for their services along with a number of temporary regulatory measures aimed at expanding telehealth access to more patient populations. Most of these measures, on the federal and state level, are tied to the […]
Capitol’s bipartisan bill authorizes $50M to ramp up telehealth services at nursing homes
Bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) aims to protect older Americans living in nursing homes from risking exposure to the coronavirus by increasing their access to remote healthcare. “The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the need for better connectivity across rural America,” said Sen. Capito, and it “has put rigid restrictions on […]
How to Improve Patient Care with Remote Patient Monitoring Solutions
Remote healthcare has taken big leaps forward over the past year, spurred on equally by new technologies and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The biggest winners: senior patients, who are now able to benefit from more proactive care and avoid trips to the doctor’s office, clinic or emergency room. They can now use solutions […]
FCC Tees Up Broadband and Telehealth Updates for First Meeting under Acting Chairwoman Rosenworcel
The FCC released the agenda for its next Open Meeting, scheduled for February 17, 2021, which will be the first with Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel at the helm. The FCC plans to kick off the meeting with three presentations detailing the Commission’s progress in implementing programs designed to support broadband access and deployment. First, the FCC […]
Senators Capito, Klobuchar introduce legislation to enhance telehealth support for seniors during pandemic
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WHSV) — West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar have reintroduced legislation to enhance telehealth support for seniors and increase access to technology for “virtual visits” during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a press release from Senator Capito’s office. The press release says the Advancing Connectivity during the Coronavirus […]
Remote patient monitoring is not the “future.” It’s the “now.”
Every patient who could benefit should be armed with the sophisticated and validated technologies currently available to monitor key biometrics at home to alert patients and their clinicians of abnormalities and opportunities for early intervention. By LUCIENNE IDE Post a comment / Feb 3, 2021 at 10:11 AM As the founder of a health IT company and a […]
The Home health landrush: Getting ahead in a complex market
Few people question whether care delivery will continue to migrate out of the hospital into new settings such as the home. The better question is, what services – specifically – will migrate to the home, and what innovations are necessary to support these migrations? By ELLEN HERLACHER Post a comment / Jan 31, 2021 at 10:00 AM By […]
OIG to Audit Telehealth Services Provided During Pandemic by Part B and Home Health Providers
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently updated its 2021 Work Plan in January to include audits of Medicare Part B and home health telehealth services by OIG’s Office of Audit Services (OAS). OAS conducts independent audits of HHS programs, HHS grantees, and contractors to examine their performance in carrying out their responsibilities […]
California DHCS releases telehealth policy proposals for post COVID-19
The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) released it’s post-COVID-19 telehealth policy proposals on Tuesday. These proposals include the expansion of telehealth services, requiring payment parity for telehealth services, expanding the use of audio-only care and many more proposals. When the COVID-19 pandemic was declared a public health emergency, the collective provisions like the CARES Act, FFCRA and other federal […]