Telehealth Access for America, an AHA-supported campaign to protect patient access to critical telehealth services, urged Congress to make permanent certain Medicare telehealth flexibilities granted during the COVID-19 public health emergency and extended through 2024 by the Consolidated Appropriations Act. “This temporary extension was welcomed news for patients and providers alike, but remains just that – a […]
Jeff Lagasse, Associate Editor The American Hospital Association has come out in support of bipartisan legislation, introduced in the House of Representatives, that would require the Department of Health and Human Services, Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, and Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission to study expanded telehealth use during the COVID-19 pandemic and recommend potential enhancements to telehealth access and […]
Noah Schwartz – Friday, February 24th, 2023 The American Hospital Association is backing legislation that would require the HHS, Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission to study the expanded use of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. The legislation, titled “Knowing the Efficiency and Efficacy of Permanent Telehealth Options Act,” is sponsored by a bipartisan […]
As the Congressional Telehealth Caucus considers updates to legislation that would permanently remove all geographic restrictions on Medicare telehealth services and expand originating sites, AHA encouraged House and Senate caucus leaders to consider adding provisions that have expanded access to care during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Specifically, AHA highlights support for provisions to permanently eliminate originating and geographic […]
Update: President Joe Biden signed the bill into law on Dec. 29, 2022. Update: The bill passed both chambers of Congress and was sent to President Joe Biden as of Dec. 23, 2022. The year-end $1.7 trillion spending bill includes provisions to extend pandemic-era telehealth and hospital-at-home waivers for two years. The legislation, released Tuesday, aims to avert a government shutdown […]
The House and Senate Appropriations Committees last night released the fiscal year 2023 Omnibus Appropriations legislation that would fund the government through Sept. 30, 2023. The bipartisan bill includes various provisions beneficial to hospitals and health systems. The legislation would: In a statement released today, AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack said, “The AHA is pleased that on a bipartisan […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Nov. 1 issued a final rule that updates the physician fee schedule (PFS) for calendar year (CY) 2023. The rule also includes changes related to the Medicare Shared Savings Program and the Quality Payment Program (QPP), both of which were created by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act […]
During the Delta and Omicron surges, hospitals and health systems faced significant challenges, prompting AHA to ask Congress for additional COVID-19 financial support. By Victoria Bailey March 24, 2022 – The American Hospital Association (AHA) has urged Congress to provide hospitals and health systems with additional COVID-19 financial support, including more Provider Relief Funds and an extension on the Medicare […]
At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) quickly moved to waive a number of regulatory requirements. These waivers provided hospitals and health systems with critical flexibilities to manage what has been a prolonged and unpredictable pandemic. Hospitals and health systems used these newly permitted tools to increase […]
The 2022 Congressional budget bill includes flexibilities for doctors to provide telehealth services to patients, according to the leader of the American College of Physicians (ACP). But the American Hospital Association (AHA) criticized lawmakers for removing additional COVID-19 relief from the omnibus spending bill approved by the House of Representatives and now in the Senate with a vote expected in coming […]
By Robert King Jan 14, 2022 11:27am Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra has renewed the COVID-19 public health emergency for another 90 days, extending key flexibilities for providers still grappling with the pandemic. The public health emergency was first ordered back in January 2020 and was set to expire after Jan. 16. […]
Telehealth adoption under COVID-19 has provided a blueprint for wider implementation across ERs and other healthcare venues. Jeff Lagasse, Associate Editor Telehealth has become more common given the current global pandemic. COVID-19 has limited doctor’s office and hospital visits to ensure safety for as many people as possible. But rather than diminish the quality of care, new […]
Knowing it may be met with some skepticism, the Trump administration Thursday announced a sweeping plan that officials say will transform health care in rural America. Even before the coronavirus pandemic reached into the nation’s less-populated regions, rural Americans were sicker, poorer and older than the rest of the country. Hospitals are shuttering at record […]
Knowing it may be met with some skepticism, the Trump administration Thursday announced a sweeping plan that officials say will transform health care in rural America. Even before the coronavirus pandemic reached into the nation’s less-populated regions, rural Americans were sicker, poorer and older than the rest of the country. Hospitals are shuttering at record […]
Other major challenges include remote patient monitoring, interoperability, real-time data analytics, work-from-home resources and patient surveillance, according to a new KLAS report. A new report from research firm KLAS found that nearly half of the 19 healthcare executives surveyed say that either telehealth functionality or capacity has been their primary problem to solve during the early stages […]