Virtual Exam and Virtual Care
COVID-19 response plan addresses unique challenges for rural hospitals and health systems
Major metropolitan areas such as New York, Seattle, and Detroit have dominated news of the COVID-19 outbreak, but rural hospitals and health care systems must also prepare for a surge of coronavirus patients. Surgeons at one rural health care system on both sides of the New York-Pennsylvania border have reported on their preparedness response plan […]
More Telehealth, Less Red Tape: What Agencies Should Know About CMS’s Home Health Changes
The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) took “unprecedented” action to reduce red tape for home health care agencies and other Medicare providers on Monday. Although the changes are, in theory, temporary, many home health stakeholders welcomed the newfound flexibility aimed at the COVID-19 pandemic. Some, however, were left scratching their heads, confused […]
CMS Further Expands Telehealth Coverage Amid COVID-19 Measures
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid will further expand Medicare coverage of telehealth services and care as one of several moves the agency is making to increase access to health care amid the COVID-19 pandemic. President Donald Trump initially announced increased Medicare reimbursements for beneficiaries seeking telehealth services in a national emergency address March 13. Since then, […]
Coronavirus Glossary: Defining the Words Used to Describe a Pandemic
AS EVERYONE STRUGGLES through the coronavirus pandemic, unfamiliar terms are everywhere. Phrases such as social distancing, also now referred to as physical distancing, as well as droplet transmission and personal protective equipment are becoming part of the vernacular – but what do they really mean? Here’s a glossary of coronavirus-related terminology. Community spread. Community spread of the coronavirus means people living […]
The CMS is now covering 80 new telehealth services for Medicare members
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) made another big step to expand telehealth services to Medicare members, announcing it will now cover over 80 new services. The government health plan will pay for some remote monitoring services for conditions related to the coronavirus — like initial hospital care — as well as many unrelated to […]
Physician groups say decision by CMS to pay for patient visits via telephone will help revenue-strapped practices
Major physician groups said the decision by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to start paying physicians for patient visits that take place by telephone will help physician practices stay open by providing them with needed revenue. Among a series of regulatory changes announced by CMS Monday night in reaction to the coronavirus pandemic was the […]
Deploying a Telehealth Strategy to Mitigate the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Only weeks ago, American doctors’ waiting rooms were bustling with patients of all ages. This was no surprise as it is estimated that in an average year the U.S. healthcare system provided an estimated 278 office-based physician visits per 100 persons, for a total of approximately 883 million visits per year.Chronic conditions were the major […]
CMS Announces Additional Expansion of Telehealth Services
On March 30, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced an additional temporary expansion of telehealth services to Medicare beneficiaries. CMS’s announcement of this new reimbursement flexibility builds on its prior expansion of telehealth services to address the COVID-19 pandemic. “Every day, heroic nurses, doctors, and other healthcare workers are dedicating long hours to […]
PICTURING TELEHEALTH IN A POST-PANDEMIC WORLD
“The game changer for telehealth post pandemic is a whole new population will now have the experience of using the technology for the first time,” says Gurpreet Singh, partner and health services leader at PwC. Seemingly overnight, the United States has gone from hesitant about telehealth to embracing it, with COVID-19 forcing people out of […]
CMS Expands Flexibilities in Response to COVID-19
On March 30, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a series of temporary waivers and an Interim Final Rule with Comment in response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. These actions stem from the January 27, 2020, public health emergency (PHE) declaration by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and a series of three bills […]
Telehealth, Not the ER, Must Be the Front Line in the War on Coronavirus | Opinion
In the United States, people with, and especially without, insurance are used to heading to the emergency room if they need care quickly. Even before the coronavirus crisis, nearly half of all U.S. medical care came from emergency rooms. A natural reaction to feeling feverish in the era of COVID-19, therefore, is to rush to the […]
COVID-19: Telehealth Takeaways from the CARES Act
On March 27th, Congress passed and the President signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the CARES Act). On both the federal and state levels we have seen efforts to support social distancing in the health care sector by increasing the use of telehealth. On the federal side, we have seen the continued relaxation of […]
More Telehealth, Less Red Tape: What Agencies Should Know About CMS’s Home Health Changes
The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) took “unprecedented” action to reduce red tape for home health care agencies and other Medicare providers on Monday. Although the changes are, in theory, temporary, many home health stakeholders welcomed the newfound flexibility aimed at the COVID-19 pandemic. Some, however, were left scratching their heads, confused […]
How Cash-Strapped Home Health Agencies Can Take Advantage of the CARES Act
On Friday, President Donald Trump’s signature finalized a record-breaking $2 trillion stimulus package, officially titled the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The act’s aim: to provide much needed financial relief to both individuals and businesses during the COVID-19 crisis. While the CARES Act does a number of things, it specifically sets aside […]