Telehealth
‘Moving beyond dollars and cents’: AMA introduces telehealth framework to grasp value of telehealth
The American Medical Association teamed up with Boston-based Massachusetts General Hospital and New Orleans-based Ochsner Health System on a May report to develop a framework for measuring the value of virtual care. As telehealth becomes more integrated into healthcare offerings, the AMA developed a virtual care foundation to guide clinicians, payers and virtual care leaders […]
GAO ON TELEHEALTH AND OTHER WAIVERS: ‘CAREFUL MONITORING IS WARRANTED’
WASHINGTON – Members of the Government Accountability Office testified before Congress last week saying, while Medicare beneficiaries and providers have benefitted from program waivers and other flexibilities, their continued use beyond the pandemic increases risks and raise considerations. Among those risks and considerations: Increased spending: Telehealth waivers can increase spending in both Medicare and Medicaid, if telehealth […]
Telehealth use in emergency care during coronavirus disease 2019: a systematic review
OBJECTIVE: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has presented emergency departments (EDs) with many challenges to address the acute care needs of patients. Many EDs have leveraged telehealth to innovatively respond to these challenges. This review describes the landscape of telehealth initiatives in emergency care that have been described during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. METHODS: […]
Pandemic’s telehealth advances will be lost if Congress doesn’t act
The pandemic has proven telehealth is a critical part of effective, efficient and equitable health care, and the AMA is encouraging Congress to act now so patients don’t lose the option of connecting with their physicians through this convenient, accessible mode of care. In written testimony submitted to the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on […]
House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on the Path Forward for Telehealth
The House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee held a hearing on April 28 to discuss the benefits that telehealth has provided during the COVID-19 pandemic and how to maintain these advancements in care in the future. During the hearing, “Charting the Path Forward for Telehealth,” subcommittee members and witnesses primarily focused their comments on how telehealth has […]
Providers push Congress for permanent telehealth capabilities — pandemic’s ‘silver lining’
Long-term care stakeholders are looking forward to telehealth policies remaining a “very, very hot topic” in Congress during the COVID-19 public health emergency, and beyond. Service providers say they are optimistic lawmakers will act, but want to make sure they are properly reimbursed in the end. “We achieved incredible advances in telehealth with the PHE,” […]
Telehealth: How the Pandemic Is Shaping the Future of Remote Healthcare
As of late March 2021, 475 million people worldwide have received a COVID-19 vaccine. Although a return to normalcy is drawing closer, it is unclear how state and federal governments will regulate and reimburse for telehealth services when temporary telehealth policies expire at the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). This alert summarizes […]
Congress to Get Another Shot at Telehealth Coverage for Specialists
Lawmakers have resubmitted the Expanded Telehealth Access Act, which would permanently extend Medicare coverage to telehealth services provided by physical and occupational therapists, audiologists and speech and language pathologists. By Eric Wicklund March 26, 2021 – A group of lawmakers has resubmitted a bill seeking to permanently expand Medicare coverage to telehealth services provided by physical and occupational therapists, […]
MedPAC Issues Medicare Payment Policy Report to Congress
On March 15, 2021, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) released its Medicare Payment Policy report to Congress updating payment recommendations for providers paid under Medicare’s traditional fee-for-service payment systems in nine sectors. MedPAC unanimously recommended a two-percent increase in the 2021 Medicare base payment rates for acute care hospitals and long-term hospitals and a […]
Telehealth Update: States Move to Permanently Expand Access to Telehealth
As previously covered, over the past year the telehealth landscape has been a patchwork of temporary waivers and regulations, expanding access during the COVID-19 pandemic but leaving providers and patients uncertain about whether the positive coverage and reimbursement changes and relaxation of pre-pandemic restrictions would continue in the future. Many of the waivers on the […]
FAQs on Telemedicine and HIPAA During the Public Health Emergency
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, federal agencies have sought to allow health care companies more flexibility to use popular technology and applications to better engage with their patients. One example is the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Civil Rights (OCR), which issued a notice that it will allow health care providers to use widely-available communications software without […]
Support Builds to Add Telehealth Options for Critical Access Hospitals
Telehealth advocates are rallying behind a bill that would allow rural and remote hospitals to use telehealth to treat patients in surrounding communities who are dealing with mental health issues. By Eric Wicklund March 29, 2021 – A new bill before Congress aims to expand telehealth access for patients living with mental health concerns at rural hospitals. The […]
House introduces bill to expand coverage of audio-only telehealth to MA plans
A new bipartisan House bill would ensure beneficiaries in Medicare Advantage (MA) plans can get access to audio-only telehealth services, a major ask from insurers. The bill, introduced Tuesday, aims to build on flexibilities given to providers by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to reimburse for telehealth services in light of the […]
How Much Will Telehealth Go “Back to the Future” Following the Pandemic?
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth was more of a stretch goal than a reality for most providers despite the seeming prevalence of video conferencing. Traditionally, although technology barriers were cited as a limiting factor, the gradual widespread adoption of high-speed internet and smartphones overcame that obstacle for most patients, but some of those least […]