On August 3, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the advance copy of its proposed 2021 Physician Fee Schedule rule, which contains new telehealth services covered under Medicare. Compared to last year, where CMS made only minor additions to telehealth services, the changes proposed for 2021 are bold and designed to more deliberately expand […]
As part of ACOG’s ongoing advocacy efforts to ensure expanded access to telehealth services, we endorsed the Protecting Access to Post-COVID-19 Telehealth Act of 2020 H.R. (7663). This bill, endorsed by the House Telehealth Caucus with bipartisan support, would remove outdated Medicare restrictions on telehealth, and expand coverage after the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) ends. This ensures obstetrician-gynecologists […]
On August 4, CMS posted a proposed rule on CY 2021 Payment Policies, which included important updates about the expansion of Medicare covered telehealth services due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This follows on the heels of Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar’s renewal of the federal public health emergency (“PHE”) on July 23. […]
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic since mid-March, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) worked quickly to issue emergency guidance that allowed temporary expansion of payment for telehealth services and provided certain flexibility in providing telehealth services. The COVID pandemic has significantly increased awareness of the benefits of telehealth, as many patients have […]
A new executive order from the White House is pushing to expand telehealth coverage and infrastructure, as well as make health care in rural communities more accessible beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services vastly expanded its Medicare coverage for telehealth visits as part of the White House’s March 13 COVID-19 national […]
Federal efforts to expand Medicare’s telehealth coverage during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic “played a critical role in helping to maintain access to primary care services,” says a new report from the Health and Human Services Department. The issue brief, released on Tuesday by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and […]
As most are aware, the telehealth industry has experienced a major expansion during the COVID-19 pandemic. The volume of telehealth claim lines in April 2020 alone reportedly increased more than 8,000% versus April of 2019, based on privately-billed medical and dental claim records alone. In anticipation of this surge and to accommodate it, Congress, the U.S. Department of Health […]
A new task force aims to shine the spotlight on the role that consumer-facing mHealth and telehealth technology can play in tackling pandemics. The Consumer Technology Association today announced the launch of the Public Health Tech Initiative, a collective of more than a dozen healthcare providers and companies – many with a significant connected health footprint […]
COVID-19 has dramatically changed the way healthcare is delivered. Providers were forced to pivot quickly from total reliance on “in-person” visits to total reliance on alternative delivery methods. Between early March 2020 and early April 2020, the number of visits to ambulatory practices declined by nearly 60%. [1] While ambulatory visits are starting to rebound, […]
To build upon temporary legislative efforts to address telehealth coverage for COVID-19, multiple states have recently passed or proposed permanent legislation to require broader telehealth reimbursement by both private and public payers to extend beyond the public health emergency. State actions have varied widely in scope and duration, but a major focus of legislation has […]
Telehealth introduces a new approach to shared clinical decision making, facilitates trusted cooperation and patient engagement. For Siemens Healthineers, the COVID-19 pandemic sheds new light on digital solutions in value-based healthcare. Recently, millions of patients have realised how their health is dependent on access to a healthcare facility infrastructure. For the clinics and physicians, the […]
In a blog post, CMS Administrator Seema Verma said the agency needs to assess telehealth reimbursement rates considering such significant uptake of virtual care during the COVID-19 pandemic. July 21, 2020 – Telehealth reimbursement rates is one area CMS is assessing in order to make Medicare telehealth expansions permanent after the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the agency’s […]
U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Republicans on Monday unveiled a discussion draft for a bill that would expand the availability of telehealth services under the Medicare program. Patients and stakeholders want to know if temporary waivers issued by Congress and the administration to expand telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic will become a permanent part […]
New legislation introduced this week would expand access to telehealth options for rural residents. The KEEP Telehealth Options Act would require the federal government to study the actions taken to expand access to telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic and report on how to improve those services. The bill was introduced by Senator Deb Fischer, […]
CMS is proposing changes to the Medicare End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System (PPS) that would encourage the use of telehealth and mHealth platforms and tools to expand dialysis treatment to the home. By Eric Wicklund July 21, 2020 – Federal officials are throwing support behind telehealth and mHealth platform that would help providers extend dialysis treatment […]