The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allocated nearly $105 million in funding to over 300 healthcare providers to boost telehealth infrastructure as coronavirus outbreaks continue, per Fierce Healthcare. The CARES Act reserved $200 million for telehealth funding in March — and the FCC’s latest distribution of funds doles out aid to larger health systems, including $1 million to […]
The pandemic has changed the way we view healthcare, especially doctor visits for the entire family. The new normal to ensure the health and safety of all persons is through the use of telemedicine, according to Linda Inmon, Extension associate-family and consumer sciences at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Telehealth, also called telemedicine, […]
Near the outset of the grueling war against Covid-19, President Donald Trump directed my agency, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), to recommend the postponement of non-emergency elective surgeries and procedures. The looming threat of a shortage of personal protective equipment and other supplies for health care workers in the face of a surge […]
Dive Brief: Senators on both sides of the aisle signaled their support for permanently removing restrictions to telehealth use at a hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Wednesday. Chairman Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said top priorities were axing geographic restrictions and expanding Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement for virtual care services. However, […]
Originating site and expansion of CMS reimbursement receive greatest support; parity pay may face an uphill battle. Senators at Health Committee hearing expressed support for continuing certain telehealth policies. Of the 31 temporary federal policy changes, there seems to be the greatest interest in permanently changing the originating site rule and expansion of reimbursement to […]
The COVID-19 public health emergency has forcefully opened the door for widespread adoption of telehealth, remote patient monitoring, and other digital health platforms by patients and providers alike. Using statutory authority to waive certain Medicare requirements during a time of national emergency, Congress and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have implemented a […]
As a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, State Medicaid programs have expanded options for telehealth services. Rapid expansion of telehealth may pose challenges for State agencies and providers, including State oversight of these services. Our objective is to determine whether State agencies and providers complied with Federal and State requirements for telehealth […]
By Alex Spanko | June 22, 2020 Early research into the impact of COVID-19 on seniors — both among the general population, and in nursing homes — has revealed endemic connections among race, income, and the likelihood of infection and death. Those patterns, reinforced by a new set of data probing COVID-19’s impact on Medicare beneficiaries, should prompt […]
“Social distancing,” a euphemism for an infection prevention and containment strategy, will undoubtedly live in the annals of meme history for its incredibly disrupting effects on the world. Fortunately, advancements in technology that allow one to upload the same memes to the internet have also enabled medical providers to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by […]
The COVID-19 virus has thrown a wrench into any home health care plans the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) initially had for 2020. Instead of mainly focusing on the launch of the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) and other initiatives, the agency has had to make a slew of critical decisions in support […]
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, regulatory, reimbursement and technological changes have all helped trigger a massive and rapid expansion of telehealth accessibility. At the same time, say industry leaders, vulnerable groups – especially people of color – are being left behind. “Regrettably, minority groups are being left behind by the telehealth revolution,” said […]
Medicare Advantage plans need to figure out how the delay of care due to the COVID-19 pandemic will impact their risk scores in the long term, experts say. Many of the services that have been deferred by consumers would have made up the sources of diagnoses that plans would have used to establish risk scores for […]
The Federal Trade Commission has offered its views on several proposals to expand Medicare and Medicaid coverage for telehealth services after the COVID-19 emergency is over. June 05, 2020 – The Federal Trade Commission is joining the groundswell of support for developing new CMS telehealth coverage policies beyond the coronavirus pandemic. In a letter sent last month to […]
Washington, DC (June 4, 2020) In a letter sent this afternoon to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) the American College of Physicians (ACP) said that many of the accommodations that have been put in place to expand the use of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as some of the other […]
On May 29th, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) submitted a comment to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in support of reducing reimbursement requirements for telehealth services. CMS accepted public comments for its new Interim Final Rule published on April 6, 2020, 85 FR 19230, which changes the Medicare payment regulations to allow for more flexible […]