The coronavirus outbreak, or COVID-19, has fundamentally transformed our lives and communities, contributing to economic declines, disruptions in schooling, and distressed hospital systems. However, the pandemic has generated some silver linings, including the widespread adoption of telehealth that has helped to mitigate the risk of community spread by reducing unnecessary hospital visits and ensuring real-time […]
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released the rural action plan, the first department-wide assessment of rural healthcare efforts in 18 years. According to a news release, the plan will serve as a roadmap for the department to strengthen coordination among departments in order to better serve rural communities across the country. […]
In August, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that asked for a report on ongoing and future actions to enhance rural health care. HHS released an 82-page response to the order last week. Technology will play a substantial role in a new effort from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to […]
Here are three things that can be done to further amplify the evolution and availability of telehealth to support patients, especially seniors. By CLINT JONES / Sep 11, 2020 at 6:11 PM If there is any type of silver lining for the Covid-19 pandemic – it’s telehealth. According to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in February […]
The roadmap released this week includes a four-point strategy to address the challenges facing rural healthcare. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday released an 82-page Rural Action Plan aimed at evaluating and engaging challenges facing rural healthcare in the country. The plan lays out a four-point strategy intended to address hurdles to providing […]
It’s now been about nine months since the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) required a new payment model for home health care, representing the largest change to the payment model in decades. The new Patient Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) affects tens of thousands of agencies that provide therapy for millions of home health […]
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 […]
The use of telehealth has exploded as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. For it to continue gaining momentum, private and public payers must appropriately reimburse for telehealth, according to the latest report from Insights by Xtelligent Healthcare Media. Healthcare leaders will continue to invest in telehealth tools and infrastructure. But organizations need support from […]
A group of Senators is asking CMS to expand coverage for telehealth services delivered by home health care providers. With Congress and the government still haggling over how to extend telehealth coverage beyond the coronavirus pandemic, a group of Senators is pushing for additional flexibilities for home health care providers. In a letter to the heads […]
Last week, the White House hosted a virtual “Roundtable Discussion on Embracing Technology and Telehealth” with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma, Director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation and Deputy Assistant to the President Brad Smith, and healthcare leaders from across the country. At the event, the White […]
With the rapid use of telehealth resulting from the pandemic, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a new toolkit to help the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP) accelerate their adoption of telehealth coverage during this time. The toolkit is designed to walk states through identifying policies that they will need to address […]
The grants are part of a two-year program launched by HHS’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to help states and Tribal organizations use telehealth and other resource to tackle the opioid abuse crisis. Federal officials are issuing roughly $1.5 billion to healthcare providers and other organizations to help them use telehealth and […]
Proposed rule would bring new treatments, tests and medical technologies to Medicare beneficiaries faster Today, under President Trump’s leadership, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule that unleashes innovative technology so Medicare beneficiaries have access to the latest, most cutting-edge devices. Today’s action represents a step forward that will help […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has issued a proposed rule that aims to allow Medicare coverage for “breakthrough devices,” giving providers and patients access to cutting-edge telemedicine and mHealth tools. Federal officials are proposing to expand Medicare coverage for new telemedicine and mHealth technologies classified as “breakthrough medical devices.” The Centers for Medicare […]
Kimberly Sanders was recovering from a heroin addiction when the coronavirus struck. She had been homeless before and struggled to commute long distances for treatments. But because of her failure to attend several appointments, her previous doctors stopped seeing her. Years later, in a bid to get clean, she moved to Estes Park, Colorado, and began attending […]