On August 4, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed rule to update its payment policies under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) for calendar year 2021. The proposed rule was issued in tandem with a presidential executive order, which directed the Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) […]
The public health emergency (PHE) caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in systemic changes throughout the nation’s health care system. Almost overnight, health systems, providers and the government were forced to collaborate to ‘stand up’ field hospitals, testing sites, and quarantine procedures, while postponing or cancelling certain elective procedures and ceasing in-person encounters. One […]
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, 2020, President Trump signed Executive Order 13941 (the “Executive Order”) which expands access to certain telehealth services post-pandemic. The Executive Order focuses on telehealth access for individuals living in rural areas and implements the following mechanisms: The Secretary of HHS is tasked with developing a new model that will give rural providers flexibilities from […]
When Curtis Carlson started having back pain this spring, he tried to put off seeing a doctor. The COVID-19 pandemic was raging, his job at a transitional housing organization in Ukiah, Calif. was busier than ever amid the economic collapse, and a hospital seemed like the last place he wanted to be. But when he […]
On August 3, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed to permanently maintain some of the COVID-19 temporary expansions to the Medicare Telehealth List and will consider comments on other telehealth expansions. CMS already covered a limited number of medical and mental health services through telehealth. The secretary of Health and Human Services may […]
Rightfully so, the coronavirus pandemic has shone the spotlight on front-line medical professionals who continue to risk their lives treating patients. In the background and often working from home, though, are billing professionals whose jobs increasingly provide critical revenue for medical facilities, from single physician practices to multi-hospital health systems. The American Hospital Association estimated […]
In its calendar year 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (“MPFS”) proposed rule, released August 3, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) has proposed to make permanent certain telehealth changes that have been implemented in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency (“PHE”). The proposals include: Permanent Telehealth Services Additions – Permanently adding certain services to the […]
While telehealth adoption has skyrocketed during the coronavirus pandemic, the use of remote patient monitoring devices has also climbed among patients, signaling a shift that some physicians say points to the need for device insurance coverage, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Cardiology patients at Pittsburgh-based Allegheny Health Network have been increasingly turning to remote monitoring devices […]
CY 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule On August 3, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published the Calendar Year (CY) 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule (PFS Proposed Rule). The agency’s proposals relating to telehealth and remote services are particularly noteworthy given the central role telehealth has taken in response to the […]
— Any meaningful reform will require action from congress While the Trump administration has asserted that an executive order and a proposed rule issued this week will expand access to telemedicine for all Americans, outside experts say such promises won’t be realized anytime soon. The executive branch lacks the needed authority on its own, they told MedPage Today, and the […]
President Trump issued an Executive Order (the “Order”) on August 3, 2020, to improve rural health and telehealth access. The Order tasks several federal agencies with developing new programs and plans to address longstanding federal barriers to fuller telehealth access in rural areas, including payments, infrastructure, and policy. According to the Order, the Centers for Medicare and […]
The executive order calls upon HHS to cement expanded Medicare telehealth coverage and improve rural health care infrastructure. A new executive order from the White House is pushing to expand telehealth coverage and infrastructure, as well as make health care in rural communities more accessible beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid […]
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic since mid-March, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) worked quickly to issue emergency guidance that allowed temporary expansion of payment for telehealth services and provided certain flexibility in providing telehealth services. The COVID pandemic has significantly increased awareness of the benefits of telehealth, as many patients have […]
US President Donald Trump issued an executive order on August 3 that aims to expand telehealth access to Medicare beneficiaries beyond the coronavirus (COVID-19) public health emergency (PHE) period. The executive order focuses on rural healthcare providers in particular, noting the difficulties patients in rural areas face in obtaining accessible, high-quality healthcare services over the years. The […]