In Short The Situation: Telehealth services continue to evolve and show promise for improving quality care, care coordination, and access to services while often demonstrating cost effective options for care. The Action: The Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) finalized its proposed exception to the Beneficiary Inducements Civil Monetary Penalties Law to protect certain telehealth technologies […]
The impetus to provide more Medicare coverage of telehealth may prove irresistible, but the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) has some reservations, including that telehealth payment rates should not favor companies like Dallas-based Teladoc Health Inc. over bricks-and-mortar clinics. This and other considerations are driving the commission toward a recommendation that a two-year telehealth pilot […]
Many remote patient monitoring programs are in the early stages of development, research from Insights by Xtelligent Healthcare Media found. By Emily Sokol, MPH December 17, 2020 – Many remote patient monitoring programs aim to prevent health emergencies for patients with chronic conditions, but these programs tend to still be in the early stages of development, according to […]
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 […]
The 2021 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) final rule recently released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) includes the addition of 60 new telehealth services that will be covered and reimbursed by Medicare. The new services will allow Medicare beneficiaries to have greater access to telehealth, with a particular focus on residents of rural areas, […]
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 […]
On December 3, 2020, HHS issued its fourth amendment to the Declaration for Medical Countermeasures Against COVID-19 under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act). The PREP Act authorizes the Secretary of HHS to issue a declaration to provide liability protections to certain individuals and entities (Covered Persons) against any claim of loss […]
In a letter to Congressional leaders, several telehealth groups have asked that emergency measures enacted during the coronavirus pandemic be kept in place through 2021 as Congress continues to work on long-term coverage. By Eric Wicklund December 15, 2020 – Telehealth advocates are lobbying Congress to get something done before the end of the year to ensure continued […]
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 […]
HELP IS ONLY ABUTTON CLICK AWAY The V.ALRT is a wearable help button that can be carried discreetly in a pocket or a bag, worn on the wrist, or around the neck as a pendant. The V.ALRT uses Bluetooth® SMART technology in association with a mobile application, to initiate calls and textmessages from a smartphone. […]
The spread of COVID-19 has caused an explosion in telehealth consultation and is catalyzing the use of remote patient monitoring (RPM) thanks to an acceleration of reimbursement from commercial and government health insurers (payers) during the pandemic. Look no further than statistics from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that show telehealth visits during the pandemic surpassed 11 million through mid-September of this year. Before CMS expanded coverage of telehealth for seniors in […]
The $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill signed into law by President Trump Dec. 27 offers Medicare coverage for telemental health and rural hospitals and funding for broadband connectivity, but criticism of the bill remains. The reason: the bill doesn’t extend the emergency telehealth access and the coverage provisions offered early on during the pandemic. Lobbying to make at […]
The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Wireline Competition Bureau announced Wednesday that it is requesting public comment for Round 2 distribution of an additional $249.95 million for its COVID-19 Telehealth Program; the Round 2 funding comes from the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. The FCC started the program in March 2020 with $200 million of CARES Act funding in order […]
It’s no secret that telehealth use skyrocketed in the early stages of COVID-19 as both patients and health systems sought to minimize the risk of transmitting the disease. According to data from the EHR vendor Epic Systems, telehealth visits peaked in mid-April, when they accounted for 69% of all ambulatory care visits. This percentage dropped substantially by […]