Alaska Senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski last week introduced the Rural and Frontier Telehealth Expansion Act. The legislation aims to permanently expand access to telehealth beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. The Alaska senators were joined by Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), and Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.) in introducing the bipartisan legislation. The […]
3 best practices you must implement to stay compliant and collect maximum reimbursement. The flourishing of telehealth in 2020 was driven not just by necessity, but also by a significant loosening of governmental regulations and of reimbursement requirements by payers. Waivers were granted during the public health emergency that allowed the use of traditionally noncompliant […]
The proposed 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, released on July 13 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), includes expanded reimbursement for behavioral health services delivered by telehealth, including reimbursing providers for audio-only telephone calls. The proposed expansion would allow Medicare beneficiaries with mental health or substance abuse disorders to receive diagnosis, evaluation and […]
As COVID-19 case counts rose and sheltering in place became a public health mandate, telehealth use skyrocketed nationwide as previous regulatory restrictions were lifted and providers and patients found safe ways to access care. But despite the rapid uptake in telehealth nationally, prevailing inequities in internet and technology access still leave out too many populations […]
Provider groups are not happy with the payment adjustment included — a 3.75% reduction to the conversion factor due to budget neutrality requirements — and will likely seek congressional intervention. CMS is proposing to extend Medicare coverage of certain telehealth services granted for the COVID-19 public health emergency to the end of 2023 to help gather data […]
The proposal includes expanding Medicare coverage for telehealth services that address mental health and substance abuse issues and extending most COVID-19 freedoms until the end of 2023, as well as some coverage for FQHCs and RHCs. By Eric Wicklund July 14, 2021 – The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ proposed 2022 Physician Fee Schedule offers some good news for […]
3 best practices you must implement to stay compliant and collect maximum reimbursement. The flourishing of telehealth in 2020 was driven not just by necessity, but also by a significant loosening of governmental regulations and of reimbursement requirements by payers. Waivers were granted during the public health emergency that allowed the use of traditionally noncompliant […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed a new category of digital health services—Remote Therapeutic Monitoring (RTM)—to complement the existing suite of Remote Physiological Monitoring (RPM) codes covered under Medicare. The new codes, part of the proposed 2022 Physician Fee Schedule, are intended to expand the scope and reach of digital health technologies […]
On July 13, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published its annual proposed changes to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. Among the 1,747 pages of proposals, one notable standout is the announcement that CMS is considering permanently keeping the temporary additions to the list of approved telehealth services that was expanded during the COVID-19 public health […]
The rapid growth and large-scale adoption of telehealth services over the past 18 months has allowed physicians to deliver a broad range of badly needed services to patients nationwide in an innovative, cost-effective manner. Now it’s time to cement that success by making permanent the temporary easing of restrictions that brought the full potential of […]
A Commonwealth Fund study finds that states altered their policies surrounding audio-only telehealth, cost-sharing, and provider reimbursement to improve telehealth coverage during the coronavirus pandemic. By Victoria Bailey July 12, 2021 – Telehealth coverage has significantly increased across the country during the coronavirus pandemic, but the challenge lies in maintaining that coverage after the pandemic is over, according […]
Increasing provider utilization in remote patient monitoring starts with effective backend processes and leaning into technologies that they already trust. By Kelsey Waddill July 05, 2021 – Remote patient monitoring (RPM) took off during the coronavirus pandemic, but the industry will have to take decisive steps in order to build on that momentum, according to Eric Wicklund, senior […]
Connect for Health Act of 2021 Reintroduced Tuesday, June 22, 2021 On 29 April 2021, Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) reintroduced the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act of 2021, S. 1512 (the Act).1 The bill, which currently has 59 cosponsors in the Senate,2 aims to codify the currently expanded access […]
CMS Proposes Calendar Year 2022 Home Health Prospective Payment System Rate Update Jun 28, 2021 Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) took action to improve home health care for older adults and people with disabilities through a proposed rule that would accelerate the shift from paying for Medicare home health services based […]