What’s the news: The AMA is supporting S. 4375, the “Telehealth Modernization Act of 2020,” which would permanently remove many of the regulatory restrictions on telehealth that were temporarily lifted at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and have enabled patients to receive care without leaving their homes. “During the pandemic, telemedicine has allowed physicians to […]
Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Treatment Choices (ETC) Model, to improve or maintain the quality of care and reduce Medicare expenditures for patients with chronic kidney disease. The ETC Model delivers on President Trump’s Advancing Kidney Health Executive Order and encourages an increased use of home dialysis […]
A special federal commission on nursing homes and COVID-19 on Wednesday released its formal report, focusing foremost on testing, personal protective equipment, and visitation as the nation’s long-term care facilities continue to grapple with the novel coronavirus. The Coronavirus Commission for Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes laid out 27 primary recommendations for the Centers for Medicare […]
When the pandemic hit, health systems across the U.S. rapidly scaled their telehealth platforms to meet the urgent demand for virtual care. The federal government and commercial payers relaxed regulations around telehealth to cover additional services and boost pay rates so health systems could continue to operate safely in the virtual environment. CIOs and their […]
Tuesday, September 15, 2020 On August 26, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) released an updated Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) guide for questions related to COVID-19 and the public health emergency (PHE). The guide supplements the previously released FAQ guidance pertaining to 1135 Waivers under COVID-19. The new guide includes additional details from COVID-19 legislation, emergency rules, […]
CMS also reported that ACOs in the Medicare Shared Savings Program saved more under new Pathway to Success tracks and if they assumed downside risk. By Jacqueline LaPointe September 15, 2020 – Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) generated $1.19 billion in total net savings to Medicare in 2019, representing the third consecutive year for net program savings and […]
Katie Adams The White House, CMS and other federal agencies have been issuing new policies and grants to expand telehealth access and use during the COVID-19 pandemic. Below is a list of updated policies, grants and other actions taken to support telehealth in response to COVID-19. March 6: President Donald Trump signed an $8.3 billion emergency funding bill […]
The Saturday letter “Telehealth will be valuable even after pandemic ends” from David Stukus made a good case for online visits with medical providers as the pandemic continues and ends. I’ve had a couple of those with my own doctors. One large limitation, however, is that you can’t do blood work online. Doctors often need […]
By Heather Spillman Sep 15, 2020 Telehealth is not a new concept for the health care industry. Prior to Covid-19, the provision of health care services via telehealth varied dramatically across providers, with significant differences based on the organization’s size, type, specialty, and even the market. Virtually overnight, Covid-19 changed telehealth from a “nice-to-have” capability to a […]
They’ve tried the technology and tested the workloads. Now that telehealth is here to stay, providers are looking closely at what telehealth strategies do and not work for them. September 14, 2020 – With the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in March, healthcare providers across the country launched or expanded telehealth platforms with the goal of moving […]
The implications of pulling back access to virtual care now would be nothing less than significant. The broad mandates that expanded telehealth coverage for Medicare and Medicaid recipients due to the COVID-19 pandemic are proving their worth. Many patients who typically didn’t have ready (or sometimes any) access to this type of coverage are now being reached. […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has clarified how providers can use telehealth and mHealth to establish and run remote patient monitoring programs, with changes that some feel could hinder care at home. The federal government is clarifying how it regulates remote patient monitoring, with changes that could significantly affect – and potentially restrict […]
Over the past five months, Congress and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have dramatically, but temporarily, expanded coverage and reimbursement for telehealth services in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The changes are in effect for the duration of the Health and Human Services (HHS) Public Health Emergency (PHE). As there are significant […]
On August 3, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its proposed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) updates for the 2021 calendar year, addressing among other policy changes how CMS will treat telehealth codes for the duration of and following the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). Background: CMS’ Process for Reviewing New Telehealth Codes CMS […]
Telehealth has recently taken off as a way to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, but even though telehealth has been around for several years, clinics had difficulty adopting it pre-COVID-19. This caused clinics to not view telehealth as a viable option, and it was often seen as a last resort approach to healthcare. As reducing […]