Telehealth & COVID-19

Latest Updates & Resources

COVID-19 Telehealth Policy Resources to Know About

With telehealth policy changing rapidly during the COVID-19 emergency, the Center for Connected Health Policy (CCHP) and the National Consortium of Telehealth Resource Centers (NCTRCs) have worked to develop some important resources to help guide providers and telehealth stakeholders through the swiftly changing landscape. 

Below are some resources that can be utilized, and are updated regularly:

• CCHP’s webpage on Telehealth Coverage Policies in the time of COVID-19:  A summary of the telehealth delivered services that are covered by various public and private payers and the associated requirements, incorporating changes made by HR 6074, HR 748, CMS guidances and other published materials, as well as the recently released CMS interim final rule.  It includes a chart that details telehealth policy both pre-COVID-19 and now during COVID-19, as well as details on the latest updates regarding HIPAA, the prescription of controlled substances and Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC)/Rural Health Clinic (RHC) policy.  
• CCHP’s crosswalk between Regulation, & CMS Guidance:  Changes in Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) policy have become nuanced and sometimes confusing, with some changes being communicated in a guidance document, while others are detailed in a lengthy interim final rule.  CCHP has created a crosswalk chart that features some of the most significant telehealth policy changes made in both documents and provides a quick reference guide to access the source of the relevant policy changes.
• CCHP’s webpage on COVID-19 State Actions:  As a result of COVID-19 many states have taken action to temporarily remove policy barriers to telehealth utilization to address this pandemic.  CCHP is tracking the telehealth relevant changes through a state-by-state chart on its State Action webpage.  If you have additional information on state actions that are not included, please submit your information to info@cchpca.org and we will be sure to include it in future updates.
• CCHP’s Quick Glance State Telehealth Actions Chart:  Because states have taken a variety of measures to reduce burdens to the use of telehealth, CCHP has created a chart categorizing some common state actions as a quick reference resource.  Items addressed include expanding Medicaid reimbursement by allowing the home as a patient originating site and allowing telephone to be used in service delivery.  This document is meant to be a quick overview of certain state actions, the official state document should be referred to in order to fully understand the scope and details of the policy. Each item is linked to the appropriate document. 
• CCHP Videos: As part of the resources CCHP is offering to help stakeholders understand policy in the time of COVID-19 are videos that present information about a specific and timely telehealth policy topic.  Thus far, videos have been created on:
  • Medicare reimbursement incorporating information from the CARES Act and CMS Guidance
  • The Drug Enforcement Administration’s current policy regarding the prescription of controlled substances and an overview of state telehealth policy
  • An Overview of State Telehealth Policy & COVID-19

Check back regularly – more videos on additional topics are on their way!

• NCTRC COVID-19 Telehealth Resource Page:  This COVID-19 focused telehealth resource page developed by the NCTRC houses some useful tools on telehealth and provides links to the 12 regional, and 2 national telehealth resource centers and each center’s COVID-19 specific resources.  The page includes a NCTRC COVID-19 Telehealth Toolkit, designed to provide studies reflecting telehealth models that may apply to treating COVID-19, an overview of telehealth policy and additional resources. 

Other resources CCHP has found useful that have been developed by other entities, include the following:

• CMS Coronavirus Toolkit
• CMS FAQs on Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) Billing
• Medicare Coverage and Payment of Virtual Services Video by CMS

Federation of State Medical Board (FSMB)’s Charts on States Modifying Licensure Requirements in Response to COVID-19