Recently, the home-based healthcare market has boomed in terms of interest and investments from payers, which makes sense given the ongoing need to keep high-risk populations healthy and safe from exposure to the potentially fatal coronavirus. The promise and value of home care has never been clearer for organizations across the care continuum. However, the […]
This week, a bipartisan group of lawmakers reintroduced the Protecting Access to Post-COVID-19 Telehealth Act to the U.S. House of Representatives. Telehealth has expanded both at the individual provider and hospital system levels through support from federal and state emergency measures aimed at increasing access during the pandemic. Without legislative intervention many of these measures will disappear […]
Monday, February 1, 2021 In response to the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency (the “PHE”) first declared on March 13, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued blanket Section 1135 Waivers to expand, albeit on a temporary basis during the PHE, the range of healthcare professionals who can provide Medicare-covered telehealth services to include […]
Editor’s Note: In a new report for the California Health Care Foundation, summarized below, Manatt Health discusses the impact of key legal changes that supported the delivery of community behavioral health services in California during the early months of the COVID‑19 pandemic. In addition, the report identifies opportunities for long-term policy reform. Although focused primarily […]
A bill introduced last month in Florida would give the state’s Medicaid program the option to provide coverage for asynchronous (store-and-forward) telehealth services and remote patient monitoring programs. By Eric Wicklund February 09, 2021 – Florida lawmakers are considering legislation that allow Medicaid coverage for asynchronous (store-and-forward) telehealth and remote patient monitoring services. S.852, filed last month by […]
AMGA president and CEO calls on Congress to act on several of the organization’s priorities, including coronavirus vaccination and promotion of telemedicine. KEY TAKEAWAYS In 2021, Congress should provide $100 billion in pandemic relief to healthcare providers, AMGA President and CEO Jerry Penso says. Congress should extend the moratorium on Medicare sequestration cuts through the […]
Bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) aims to protect older Americans living in nursing homes from risking exposure to the coronavirus by increasing their access to remote healthcare. “The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the need for better connectivity across rural America,” said Sen. Capito, and it “has put rigid restrictions on […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WHSV) — West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar have reintroduced legislation to enhance telehealth support for seniors and increase access to technology for “virtual visits” during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a press release from Senator Capito’s office. The press release says the Advancing Connectivity during the Coronavirus […]
Every patient who could benefit should be armed with the sophisticated and validated technologies currently available to monitor key biometrics at home to alert patients and their clinicians of abnormalities and opportunities for early intervention. By LUCIENNE IDE Post a comment / Feb 3, 2021 at 10:11 AM As the founder of a health IT company and a […]
Few people question whether care delivery will continue to migrate out of the hospital into new settings such as the home. The better question is, what services – specifically – will migrate to the home, and what innovations are necessary to support these migrations? By ELLEN HERLACHER Post a comment / Jan 31, 2021 at 10:00 AM By […]
In advance of the next session of Congress, lawmakers are scrambling to file new bills or resubmit old bills that aim to expand telehealth access and coverage through and beyond the coronavirus pandemic. By Eric Wicklund January 29, 2021 – The telehealth bills are starting to pile up on Capitol Hill. At least three more bills have been […]
The Big Picture Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have dramatically—but temporarily—expanded coverage and reimbursement for telehealth services. On December 1, CMS issued the final calendar year (CY) 2021 Medicare physician fee schedule (MPFS) final rule and interim final rule, including several changes to Medicare Part […]
As of December 1, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has permanently expanded the number of telehealth services available to Medicare beneficiaries and enrollees as part of the FY2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule (Final Rule). This historic expansion follows President Trump’s August 2020 Executive Order on Improving Rural Health and Telehealth […]
The bill signed into law by President Trump before Christmas offers a few telehealth tidbits – including Medicare coverage for telemental health and rural hospitals and funding for broadband connectivity – but the criticism has so far outweighed the compliments. By Eric Wicklund January 04, 2021 – Telehealth advocates aren’t impressed with the lack of support for connected […]