telehealth flexibilities

Federal Health Policy Update for March 27

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for March 21-27.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress The House and Senate need to pass a joint budget resolution as a first step before committees can begin writing legislation to pass under reconciliation.  Each chamber has passed its own budget resolution and while the two are very different, congressional leaders have agreed to write a less prescriptive resolution that will permit each chamber’s committees to determine the level of spending and saving required and then will try to work out [...]

Federal Health Policy Update for February 6

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for January 31 – February 6.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Introduction With the pause in external communication that the new administration imposed on HHS two weeks ago, including announcements, advisories, regular publications, and web site updates, there has been very little public communication from or activity involving HHS in the past week, including no new regulations or grant or meeting notices.  While an HHS spokesperson explained that the moratorium has been eased and agencies are now permitted to engage in [...]

Federal Health Policy Update for November 14

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for November 8-14.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Election Update House of Representatives Though the outcome of nine races for seats in the House remains undecided, Republicans have won enough seats to control the House in the new Congress.  Yesterday, Republicans voted to nominate the current Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson (LA), for Speaker in the new Congress and will hold the vote for that position when the 119th Congress convenes in Washington, D.C. on January 3.  It is expected, after [...]

117th Congress’s Waning Hours

In addition to its biggest challenge – funding the federal government, authorization for which ends on December 16 – Congress has a number of health care issues on its agenda that at least some lawmakers and health care industry stakeholders would like to see it address before the year ends. Those issues include the cut in Medicare payments to physicians scheduled to take place on January 1; the desire of many to make permanent some of the flexibilities to use telehealth that were temporarily authorized in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency; additional pandemic funding for new vaccines, new [...]

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