Congress is expected to pass an omnibus spending bill this week that would extend pandemic-era Medicare telehealth waivers until the end of 2024. The bill would also keep in place the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) innovative Hospital at Home program, and continue several other programs aimed at boosting connected health access and coverage. Among several organizations […]
The 2023 final rule didn’t give rehab therapists much in the way of clarity when it comes to the long-term future of telehealth as a reimbursable service. But, it did present a path forward—if therapists are willing to take it. Here’s where rehab therapy telehealth stands in 2023, and how it can become a permanent addition in […]
Advocates for telehealth kept pressing Congress to ensure access for virtual care, and it appears lawmakers got the message. Lawmakers are working on final approval of the $1.7 trillion federal spending bill before the government is slated to shut down at the end of the week. Senate leaders included a provision to extend telehealth waivers […]
A major end-of-the-year spending package released early Monday only gave partial relief to physicians seeking to get rid of a 4.5% pay cut set to go into effect next year, amid other major health policy reforms. Congress is expected to pass the $1.7 trillion package by Friday to avoid a government shutdown. Here is a […]
The proposed $1.66 trillion omnibus government funding bill – which is expected to pass through the U.S. House and Senate this week – includes multiple home-based care provisions of importance. Among those is new home health payment transparency language, an extension of the rural add-on, a separate extension of the Money Follows the Person program […]
Lawmakers rolled out a roughly $1.7 trillion year-end spending bill Dec. 20 to fund the U.S. government through most of 2023, tacking on proposals to extend telehealth and hospital-at-home flexibilities while leaving out other healthcare asks. Lawmakers have until the end of Dec. 23 to clear the 2023 Omnibus Appropriations bill or federal funds are […]
The omnibus spending bill currently set before Congress includes provisions that would extend the waiver for recertification using telehealth through the end of 2024, among other items pertaining to hospice. Legislators have released the text of the more than 6,000-page bill that is intended to fund the federal government for Fiscal Year 2023. Congress is working to […]
Update: President Joe Biden signed the bill into law on Dec. 29, 2022. Update: The bill passed both chambers of Congress and was sent to President Joe Biden as of Dec. 23, 2022. The year-end $1.7 trillion spending bill includes provisions to extend pandemic-era telehealth and hospital-at-home waivers for two years. The legislation, released Tuesday, aims to avert a government shutdown […]
(Alexandria, VA) Congress has released the text of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, an omnibus funding package that will fund the government through Fiscal Year 2023. As NHPCO advised its members in a Member Alert this morning, the legislation contains measures that will affect hospices positively and negatively. We expect the legislation to pass and […]
Telehealth is the distribution of healthcare services using digital telemedicine software. It is the best-known method for patients and healthcare providers nowadays. In the past, telehealth was not very popular, and most patients felt better visiting their doctors in person instead of using this technology. But the pandemic has changed the course of history. Before COVID-19 […]
The House and Senate Appropriations Committees last night released the fiscal year 2023 Omnibus Appropriations legislation that would fund the government through Sept. 30, 2023. The bipartisan bill includes various provisions beneficial to hospitals and health systems. The legislation would: In a statement released today, AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack said, “The AHA is pleased that on a bipartisan […]
WASHINGTON — Leaders in Congress have reached a sweeping deal to ease Medicare pay cuts to doctors, make major changes to post-pandemic Medicaid policy, and to help prepare for future pandemics. Lawmakers are aiming to pass a health care policy package along with legislation to fund the federal government by Friday. The details of the omnibus […]
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 […]
A fourth year into the pandemic, its effects have hospices continuing to combat against financial and operational headwinds, as well as uncertainty about the future of telehealth rules. The COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) is likely to endure past another extension. Currently set to expire Jan. 11, 2023, the U.S. Department of Health & Human […]