Bills that would extend expiring telehealth and hospital-at-home authorities and reverse a regulation establishing staffing mandates for nursing homes are ready for final votes in the House after committee consideration Wednesday.The Energy and Commerce Committee met to vote on a number of healthcare bills at the session. Among them was the Telehealth Modernization Act of […]
A U.S. House committee unanimously passed a bill Sept. 18 that would extend the hospital-at-home program and telehealth flexibilities.The Telehealth Modernization Act of 2024 moved out of the Committee on Energy and Commerce and will now go before the full House. The legislation, which would be funded by pharmacy benefit manager reform, would continue the CMS hospital-at-home waiver for five years […]
In a letter submitted to the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health for a hearing Nov. 14, the AHA expressed support for the CONNECT Act (S.2016/H.R. 4189) and urged Congress to allow Medicare beneficiaries to access telehealth services wherever they and their providers are and allow rural health clinics, federally qualified health centers and critical access hospitals to serve as […]
AHA on Oct. 10 voiced support for the CONNECT for Health Act (S. 2016/H.R. 4189), legislation that would increase patient access to telehealth services while removing barriers to adoption. The bill would permanently remove geographic restrictions that limit where patients can access telehealth, add homes and other clinically appropriate originating sites, and allow rural health […]
Learn What’s New for FY 2024 CMS issued FY 2024 Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and Long Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System (LTCH PPS) final rules to update IPPS hospital and LTCH Medicare payment policies. See a summary of key provisions effective October 1, 2023. On January 30, 2023, the Biden Administration announced its intent to end the national […]
Telehealth changes that helped physicians and patients during the COVID-19 pandemic could become permanent under a new bill pending in Congress. Meanwhile, another leading physician group is supporting site-neutral payment for medical services. The two issues have sparked renewed discussion this month due to proposals by federal policy makers. CONNECT in Congress A bipartisan group of 60 […]
Dive Brief: Dive Insight: Permanently expanding telemedicine access has broad bipartisan support in Congress. A number of bills have been introduced to codify more telehealth protections after COVID-19, including CONNECT, which is considered the most comprehensive virtual care legislation by advocacy groups. Since CONNECT was first introduced in 2016, a number of the bill’s original provisions have […]
What’s the news: A bipartisan group of 60 senators has reintroduced the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act. The CONNECT for Health Act, S. 2016, will expand coverage of telehealth services through Medicare, make permanent COVID-19 telehealth flexibilities, improve health outcomes, and make it easier for patients to connect […]
June 16, 2023 – In support of continued telehealth access, a bipartisan group of 60 United States senators reintroduced the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act to expand Medicare coverage of telehealth, sustain virtual care flexibilities, enhance health outcomes, and ease healthcare communication. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the efficacy of telehealth. Greater […]
The CONNECT For Health Act has been filed again in both the Senate and House, and supporters say the groundswell for expanded telehealth coverage and services could finally give the bill the momentum it needs for passage. KEY TAKEAWAYS The CONNECT for Health Act, first introduced in 2016, aims to expand oportunities and coverage for […]
Tuesday, June 6, 2023 Telehealth experienced massive growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, due in no small part to various regulatory and reimbursement policies that federal agencies implemented following a declaration by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in early 2020 that the COVID-19 pandemic was a public health emergency (PHE). Although the […]
Consumers with health saving accounts and high-deducible health plans would be able to continue to access telehealth services without having to meet their minimum deductible under legislation reintroduced in Congress last week. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth became an important tool used by families, seniors and rural communities to access quality, affordable health care,” said Rep. Michelle Steel, […]
In anticipation of critical telehealth flexibilities expiring on Dec. 31, US Representatives Michelle Steel (CA-48), Brad Schneider (IL-10), and Susie Lee (NV-3), along with a bipartisan group of 30 Congress members, sent a letter requesting that House leadership include two pieces of legislation that extend some flexibilities in a year-end package. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, patients […]
After the COVID-19 pandemic changed telehealth, expanding access to the digital health care under temporary emergency policies, two House members said that congressional efforts are trying to expand Medicare’s virtual flexibilities beyond temporary pandemic efforts at an Axios event on Wednesday. According to CDC data from October, approximately 37% of adults in the U.S. used telemedicine in […]