Telehealth

CMS Funds Expanded Telehealth in Four States

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is building on its Community Health Access and Rural Transformation (CHART) Model by awarding up to $20 million to organizations in four states to expand the use of telehealth in their communities and introduce other improvements that enhance access to care in rural areas. Organizations in Alabama, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington state will receive $2 million for planning and up to $3 million each for achieving specific objectives. The CHART model seeks to use telehealth and other means, reimbursed through an accountable care organization model, to address health disparities and reduce hospital [...]

iqtsupport2021-10-21T06:00:15-04:00October 21, 2021|Accountable Care Organization, ACO, Alternative payment models, Telehealth|

Federal Health Policy Update for Thursday, September 23

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 23. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Provider Relief Fund HHS’s Health Resources and Services Administration has posted new information about planned distributions of additional COVID-19 supplemental funding for health care providers through the Provider Relief Fund and for qualified rural hospitals through funding made available through the American Rescue Plan. Included in the new posting is information about: Web events to explain what the agency is doing and what providers must do to pursue [...]

iqtsupport2021-09-23T17:39:28-04:00September 23, 2021|Coronavirus, COVID-19, MACPAC, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Telehealth|

Health Policy Update for Thursday, August 19

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 19. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The White House The White House has issued a fact sheet highlighting the latest administration actions to address COVID-19. Those actions include its plan to begin offering COVID-19 booster vaccines starting the week of September 20; a soon-to-be-published regulation requiring workers in long-term-care facilities to be vaccinated (described below); a directive to the Secretary of Education to use all available tools to ensure that governors and other officials [...]

iqtsupport2021-08-19T17:45:22-04:00August 19, 2021|Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Coronavirus, COVID-19, MACPAC, Medicare, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare reimbursement policy, Telehealth|

Federal Health Policy Update for Wednesday, July 14

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday, July 14. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. CMS – Proposed 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Rule CMS has released its proposed Medicare physician fee schedule rule for 2022. Highlights of the proposed rule, which is more than 1700 pages, include: loosening current restrictions on the use of telehealth and expanding its use for behavioral health services; expanding the reach of the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program; requiring clinicians to meet a higher performance threshold to receive [...]

iqtsupport2021-07-14T18:50:52-04:00July 14, 2021|Accountable Care Organization, ACO, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Coronavirus, COVID-19, MACPAC, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, Telehealth|

Is Telehealth Too Expensive To Keep?

That’s the question Congress is asking these days. While health care interests and consumers are almost unanimous in their enthusiasm for telehealth, Congress is questioning whether telehealth is too expensive to preserve after the threat of COVID-19 passes. Prior to the pandemic, Medicare mostly limited the use of telehealth to rural areas where access to providers is limited. Once the public health emergency became serious Medicare waived many of its limits on the use of telehealth so that elderly patients could stay in touch with their doctors. On the whole, patients have viewed telehealth favorably and providers are very enthusiastic [...]

iqtsupport2021-05-25T06:00:16-04:00May 25, 2021|Medicare reimbursement policy, Telehealth|

Federal Health Policy Update for Wednesday, May 19

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday, May 19. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. NASH Advocacy NASH has written to all members of Congress urging them to contact Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra about directing more of its remaining CARES Act Provider Relief Fund money to private safety-net hospitals to help them serve their diverse, predominantly low-income communities during the COVID-19 emergency. Go here to see NASH’s message to Congress. The White House COVID-19 The White House has posted a [...]

iqtsupport2021-05-19T18:01:19-04:00May 19, 2021|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Congress, Coronavirus, hospitals, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, Telehealth|

Study of Cardiac Telehealth Yields Interesting Results

Increased use of telehealth among cardiac patients as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has produced some interesting results. According to a study published by JAMA Open Network, …[cardiology] patients using COVID-era remote visits were more likely to be Asian, Black, or Hispanic individuals, have private insurance, and have cardiovascular comorbidities. Compared with pre-COVID in-person visits, clinicians during COVID-era video and telephone visits had a significantly lower odds of ordering any medication as well as most tests. The use of telehealth has increased significantly since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the introduction of temporary Medicare regulations that encourage [...]

iqtsupport2021-04-12T06:00:02-04:00April 12, 2021|Medicare, Telehealth|

MedPAC: Go Slow on Expanding Medicare Telehealth

MedPAC wants Medicare to test the impact of telehealth on health care under non-COVID-19 conditions before moving forward with expanding the tool’s use in the Medicare population. In a news release accompanying its recently released annual report to Congress on Medicare payment policy, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission writes that In the report, we present a policy option for expanded coverage for Medicare telehealth policy after the PHE is over. Under the policy option, policymakers should temporarily continue some of the telehealth expansions for a limited duration of time (e.g., one to two years after the PHE) to gather more [...]

iqtsupport2021-03-19T13:00:08-04:00March 19, 2021|Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy, Telehealth|

Coronavirus Update: March 31, 2020

Coronavirus Update: March 31, 2020 Yesterday the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a major update of Medicare and Medicaid regulations that included blanket waivers of a large number of Medicare and Medicaid regulations and requirements. The following is a summary of the major aspects of this new regulation. New Policies and Waivers From Medicare and Medicaid Regulations and Requirements CMS has introduced dozens of changes that involve waivers from current regulations and requirements. A comprehensive, 26-page CMS document describing these changes can be found here and below are the highlights organized into four broad categories: increasing [...]

iqtsupport2020-03-31T20:24:34-04:00March 31, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19, Medicaid, Medicaid regulations, Medicare, Medicare regulations, Telehealth|

Home Health Agencies Expanding Scope of Endeavor

In the coming years, home health agencies will be providing a broader scope of services. With many such agencies already offering medication management technology, remote patient monitoring, image-sharing technology, and mobile apps for e-visits, many are planning to do more. More than a quarter of home health providers plan to move into or expand their telehealth offerings in the coding years and many already provide chronic care services, with more planning to do so in the coming years. Home health providers also are moving into palliative care, veteran-specific services, and mental health services. Behind some of this expansion of scope [...]

iqtsupport2019-12-09T06:00:21-05:00December 9, 2019|Medicare, Telehealth|