3 best practices you must implement to stay compliant and collect maximum reimbursement. The flourishing of telehealth in 2020 was driven not just by necessity, but also by a significant loosening of governmental regulations and of reimbursement requirements by payers. Waivers were granted during the public health emergency that allowed the use of traditionally noncompliant […]
The rapid growth and large-scale adoption of telehealth services over the past 18 months has allowed physicians to deliver a broad range of badly needed services to patients nationwide in an innovative, cost-effective manner. Now it’s time to cement that success by making permanent the temporary easing of restrictions that brought the full potential of […]
A Commonwealth Fund study finds that states altered their policies surrounding audio-only telehealth, cost-sharing, and provider reimbursement to improve telehealth coverage during the coronavirus pandemic. By Victoria Bailey July 12, 2021 – Telehealth coverage has significantly increased across the country during the coronavirus pandemic, but the challenge lies in maintaining that coverage after the pandemic is over, according […]
Dive Brief: The Biden administration’s top health policy official on Thursday reiterated his support for expanded telehealth access after the COVID-19 national emergency expires, as Congress considers a slate of bills that would permanently nix regulatory barriers to virtual care. “We are absolutely supportive of efforts to give us the authority to utilize telehealth in greater […]
It is not a coincidence that two symbolic healthcare policy events took place this week. I’m talking about the Senate’s confirmation of Chiquita Brooks-LaSure as administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the introduction of H.R. 3447, the Permanency for Audio-Only Telehealth Act. The latter would allow for Medicare coverage of audio-only telehealth services […]
Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Jerry Moran (R-KS) introduced the bipartisan Protecting Rural Telehealth Access Act to make current telehealth flexibilities permanent. This legislation would ensure rural and underserved community healthcare providers are able to continue offering telehealth services after the current public health emergency ends. […]
Once mastered, the remote patient monitoring platform gives the practice a pathway to establishing meaningful care management. June 07, 2021 – As the nation’s healthcare ecosystem looks to embrace value-based care, concepts like remote patient monitoring are gaining favor with providers—particularly medical practices—who want to improve care management. As with any relatively new service, remote patient monitoring […]
The American Medical Association teamed up with Boston-based Massachusetts General Hospital and New Orleans-based Ochsner Health System on a May report to develop a framework for measuring the value of virtual care. As telehealth becomes more integrated into healthcare offerings, the AMA developed a virtual care foundation to guide clinicians, payers and virtual care leaders […]
Long-term care stakeholders are looking forward to telehealth policies remaining a “very, very hot topic” in Congress during the COVID-19 public health emergency, and beyond. Service providers say they are optimistic lawmakers will act, but want to make sure they are properly reimbursed in the end. “We achieved incredible advances in telehealth with the PHE,” […]
As of late March 2021, 475 million people worldwide have received a COVID-19 vaccine. Although a return to normalcy is drawing closer, it is unclear how state and federal governments will regulate and reimburse for telehealth services when temporary telehealth policies expire at the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). This alert summarizes […]
As previously covered, over the past year the telehealth landscape has been a patchwork of temporary waivers and regulations, expanding access during the COVID-19 pandemic but leaving providers and patients uncertain about whether the positive coverage and reimbursement changes and relaxation of pre-pandemic restrictions would continue in the future. Many of the waivers on the […]
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth was more of a stretch goal than a reality for most providers despite the seeming prevalence of video conferencing. Traditionally, although technology barriers were cited as a limiting factor, the gradual widespread adoption of high-speed internet and smartphones overcame that obstacle for most patients, but some of those least […]