On July 7, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its annual proposed rule updating the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) for calendar year (CY) 2023, which included various proposed changes related to the provision of telehealth, including implementing telehealth provisions included within the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, and extending coverage through the end of […]
A bill that would extend telehealth waivers until the end of 2024 has been passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. The news is notable because it means that these pandemic-relief telehealth flexibilities could be untied from the public health emergency (PHE). Currently, the PHE is set to expire in October, but could receive another […]
The federal government will give skilled nursing facilities a 2.7% pay bump in their payments for 2023, according to the final rule published on Friday. This reflects a $1.7 billion increase resulting from a 5.1% bump to the payment rates for SNFs. That includes a 3.9% SNF market basket increase, a 1.5 percentage point market basket forecast […]
It started out as a $4 trillion infrastructure package; but nearly a year and a half later, Biden’s Build Back Better initiative is now a $40 billion healthcare bill. The whittling down of the package was mostly the work of one senator, Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Manchin has successfully hacked away at the […]
ATA and ATA Action shared high levels of support for new telehealth legislation supporting the expansion of PHE flexibilities. By Mark Melchionna July 26, 2022 – The American Telemedicine Association (ATA) and ATA Action said it strongly supports the expansion of public health emergency (PHE) flexibilities sponsored by US Representatives Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and Liz Cheney (R-WY). The […]
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has extended the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) for another 90 days. A continued federally declared emergency allows flexibilities instituted by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to remain intact, such as 1135 waivers of certain hospice rules. These flexibilities permitted the use […]
Despite bad news on the fee cut, some provisions on ACOs have doctors cheering by Joyce Frieden, Washington Editor, MedPage July 15, 2022 WASHINGTON — Physician group responses to the proposed 2023 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule ranged from disappointment over the proposed 4.4% overall payment cut to praise for many of the provisions related to accountable […]
On July 7, 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the CY 2023 Revisions to Payment Policies Under the Physician Fee Schedule and Other Revisions to Medicare Part B Proposed Rule, which was published in the Federal Register on July 29, 2022. The proposed rule includes proposals related to Medicare physician payment […]
July 07, 2022 The federal COVID-19 public health emergency’s (PHE) current expiration date is just one week away—July 14, 2022. While no official extension has been issued by the Biden-Harris administration yet, it is increasingly likely that the PHE will be extended for at least another 90 days. Previously, the federal government had pledged to […]
As the Center for Connected Health Policy has continued to update our Telehealth Policy Finder over the course of 2022, a few new elements are beginning to emerge in newly passed legislation and in adopted Medicaid policies. While these may not yet be trends, they have potential to develop into trends, as it is common […]
Congress has extended telehealth benefits for Medicare beneficiaries and for participants in high-deductible health plans with health savings accounts. The extension keeps telehealth benefits in place that were greatly expanded at the start of the pandemic. But the future of expanded telehealth medicine remains uncertain. The telehealth extension was enacted on a temporary basis as […]
COVID-19 has led to dramatic increases in adoption of telehealth by both physicians and patients. Policymakers should seize the opportunity to make permanent policy that supports many of these advancements beyond the pandemic. Why telehealth is important In the March 15, 2022, episode of Moving Medicine, AMA Chief Experience Officer Todd Unger discusses the importance of […]
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues across the United States, states, payers, and providers are looking for ways to expand access to telehealth services. Telehealth is an essential tool in ensuring patients are able to access the healthcare services they need in as safe a manner as possible. In order to provide our clients with quick […]
The declared Public Health Emergency (PHE) under the Public Health Service Act will apparently be renewed at least one further time beyond its current July 15, 2022 expiration, as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has repeatedly committed to provide a 60-day notice prior to the termination or expiration of the PHE, and mid-May has […]