As the COVID-19 pandemic continues across the United States, states, payers, and providers are looking for ways to expand access to telehealth services. Telehealth is an essential tool in ensuring patients are able to access the healthcare services they need in as safe a manner as possible. In order to provide our clients with quick and […]
As home health and home care operators move toward the ninth month of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s important to take stock of what has been accomplished from a policy perspective. Many of 2020’s regulatory changes will be fleeting, but others will shape the future of post-acute care for years to come. That was the message […]
Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule [CMS-1730-F] that finalizes routine updates to the home health payment rates for calendar year (CY) 2021, in accordance with existing statutory and regulatory requirements. This rule also finalizes the regulatory changes related to the use of telecommunications technology in providing care under […]
CMS on Thursday made permanent changes to telehealth flexibilities for home health providers. In its home health payment rule for 2021, the agency signed off on changes to allow providers to use telehealth for related skilled services if they’re outlined in a patient’s care plan. It also requires provides to describe how telehealth would improve treatment in a patient’s […]
More than 30 members of Congress have sent a letter to CMS Administrator Seema Verma asking her to expand COVID-19 telehealth coverage for audiology and speech-language pathology services. By Eric Wicklund October 13, 2020 – The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is again facing calls to expand telehealth coverage for audiology and speech-language pathology during the coronavirus […]
Before Covid-19, pursuing Federal broadband grant funds was orderly and straightforward. Some grants paid for broadband infrastructure that was restricted to school premises. Federal grants funded healthcare-related broadband in public hospitals and clinics. Other agency programs funded broadband in city and county offices, libraries, and public facilities. A couple of smaller agencies funded residential and […]
Reps. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., and Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., view telehealth services as a key tool to promote equity in health care post-pandemic Two House lawmakers active in tech policy on Monday outlined how to transition telehealth services used widely during the pandemic into permanent tools capable of reducing health care disparities in the U.S after […]
The FCC has extended the deadline for its telehealth program recipients to use their money to buy eligible devices and services to the end of the year. The FCC has given out $200 million in CARES Act telehealth subsidies for healthcare providers to purchase tablets and smart phones and other telehealth provision tech, as well […]
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 […]
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, […]
Improvements in access, usability and scheduling brought on by the pandemic will outlast the current public health crisis. Five months after COVID-19 was formally declared a pandemic, the disease continues to deeply impact the healthcare and life sciences industry. Care providers are faced with critical shortages of both staff and supplies. COVID-19 has deeply exacerbated […]
The latest telehealth expansion bill introduced to Congress would extend CARES Act provisions through the end of 2025 and compel the GAO to issue two reports on the successes and challenges associated with connected health. The drumbeat continues to extend telehealth coverage beyond the coronavirus pandemic, with a new bill introduced this week in the […]
A letter signed by 14 Democratic Senators charges the FCC and Chairman Ajit Pai with failing to properly manage the Rural Health Care Program and the COVID-19 Telehealth Program, thus hindering attempts to expand telehealth access in rural America. A group of lawmakers is taking the Federal Communications Commission and Chairman Ajit Pai to task […]
A new bill before Congress aims to increase funding for telehealth expansion programs that target improved broadband connectivity. The Accelerating Connected Care and Education Support Services on the Internet (ACCESS the Internet) Act, introduced this past week by Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and John Cornyn (R-TX), proposes to add $400 million to Federal Communications Commission’s COVID-19 […]
A Federal Communications Commission plan to spend $300 million on telehealth is the latest in a series of steps taken to aid Americans during the coronavirus pandemic. While direct government spending on healthcare services is usually poorly targeted, such temporary emergency programs with strict spending limits and strict oversight can actually save money compared to […]