Telehealth

Federal Health Policy Update for Monday, December 6

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Monday, December 6. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The White House The White House has published a plan outlining the steps the administration will take to combat the delta and omicron variants of COVID-19 in the coming months. The major components of this plan are boosters for all adults, vaccinations for children, expanded free home testing, stronger public health protocols for international travel, workplace protections, rapid response teams to help battle rising cases, and supplying treatment [...]

iqtsupport2021-12-06T17:23:36-05:00December 6, 2021|Accountable Care Organization, Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Coronavirus, COVID-19, MACPAC, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, Telehealth|

Federal Health Policy Update for Wednesday, December 1

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 1. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Omicron Variant The CDC has confirmed the first case of the COVID-19 omicron variant on U.S. soil. Learn more from this CDC news release. Health Care Employee Vaccine Mandate COVID-19 A federal court has issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the federal government’s requirement that health care workers receive COVID-19 vaccines by December 6. Find the court’s ruling here. The ultimate ruling will be made by a [...]

iqtsupport2021-12-01T17:37:13-05:00December 1, 2021|Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, CMMI, Coronavirus, COVID-19, MedPAC, Telehealth|

Federal Health Policy Update for Tuesday, November 23

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 23. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The White House The White House has posted a transcript of the November 22 press briefing given by its COVID-19 response team and public officials. Go here for the slides presented during that meeting. Provider Relief Fund HHS announced that it has begun distributing $7.5 billion in American Rescue Plan rural payments to providers and suppliers that serve rural Medicaid, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and Medicare beneficiaries. [...]

iqtsupport2021-11-23T17:27:12-05:00November 23, 2021|Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Coronavirus, COVID-19, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy, Telehealth|

MedPAC Discusses Post-COVID Telehealth

Should Medicare continue to encourage the use of telehealth when the COVID-19 pandemic ends? Should it continue to pay for telehealth when the there is no “tele” in the service and it is audio only? And should Medicare pay different rates for visits in person, telehealth visits, and audio-only (that is, telephone) visits? These were among the questions addressed by members of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission during their public meetings last week. Members also discussed the need for further analysis of the effectiveness of telehealth and audio-only visits, how to identify audio-only visits on Medicare claims, how to collect [...]

iqtsupport2021-11-17T06:00:10-05:00November 17, 2021|Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, Telehealth|

Federal Health Policy Update for Thursday, November 4

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Thursday, November 4. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. New Federal Vaccination Requirements CMS has unveiled its new COVID-19 vaccine requirements for health care providers that receive reimbursement from the federal government. The highlights include: CMS is requiring COVID-19 vaccination of eligible staff at health care facilities that participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The staff vaccination requirement applies to the following Medicare and Medicaid-certified provider and supplier types: ambulatory surgery centers, community mental health centers, [...]

iqtsupport2021-11-04T17:17:11-04:00November 4, 2021|340b, Alternative payment models, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Congress, Coronavirus, COVID-19, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid upper-payment limit, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare regulations, MedPAC, 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|