The three-year, $100 million program, aimed at boosting broadband connectivity in underserved parts of the country to support telehealth expansion, will accept applications for one month, beginning on November 6. By Eric Wicklund November 05, 2020 – The Federal Communications Commission is set to launch its Connected Care Pilot Program, a three-year, $100 million project aimed at expanding telehealth […]
CMS released or proposed five rules since Oct. 28 concerning new payment reforms, price transparency regulations and coverage of a COVID-19 vaccine. Here’s a breakdown of the five rules and proposals, beginning with the most recent: 1. CMS released a final rule Nov. 2 that updates payment rates for dialysis services. It takes effect Jan. 1. The […]
During the COVID-19 public health emergency, the Medicare 1135 waiver immediately expanded the use of telehealth and bypassed HIPAA requirements, allowing essentially any video chat application to be used for remote patient visits. Within days, free video chat apps of all sorts became widely used by skilled nursing facilities and practically all other healthcare provider […]
The numbers are astonishing: The use of telehealth services in the U.S. has grown from 11% of consumers in 2019 to 46% in 2020. But telemedicine was not Plan A for many of these patients. They adopted it because of the difficulty of face-to-face physician visits during the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Telemedicine can do far more than suffice […]
The 2020 Home Health Final Rule has a “significant change” that home healthcare agencies “should be paying close attention,” according to Aaron Tripp, vice president for reimbursements and financing policy at LeadingAge. During a LeadingAge Coronavirus Update call this week, Tripp noted that although the payment part of the Request for Anticipate Payment will go away next […]
The surge in telehealth brought on by COVID-19 catalyzed an era of care distribution and decentralization powered by care delivered outside the traditional healthcare facility. Business models that build on this momentum will require new payment and regulatory operating models and a frictionless experience for patients. During a fireside chat at the Becker’s Healthcare Telehealth […]
CMS Administrator Seema Verma touted the gains in virtual care and digital health her agency has made during the pandemic and said she plans to increase the number of services available via telehealth during an interview with Business Insider. “We have to continue to increase the number of services available through telehealth, and I think you’ll […]
Telehealth became an important aspect of clinical response to COVID-19 during the early days of the pandemic and remains an essential tool for physicians to connect with patients. At the Becker’s Healthcare Telehealth Virtual Forum on Nov. 2-3, healthcare executives from across the U.S. gathered to discuss the big challenges and opportunities in telehealth and […]
Supporters of digital Diabetes Prevention Programs say the PREDICTS trial proves that telehealth and mHealth tools can improve clinical outcomes for people at risk of developing the chronic disease. By Eric Wicklund November 04, 2020 – A year-long study conducted by the University of Nebraska and Wake Forest University has found that a telehealth platform can help reduce […]
That is a $390M increase in Medicare home health reimbursement, according to a new final rule that also expands coverage of telecommunications tech and keeps the PDGM’s behavioral adjustment. By Jacqueline LaPointe November 04, 2020 – CMS has finalized a 1.9 percent, or $390 million, increase in Medicare home health reimbursement in 2021. The boost in reimbursement is […]
As the health care industry continues to navigate through challenges in an uncertain and rapidly-evolving landscape, we’ve learned that what worked a year ago may no longer make sense in today’s socially distanced, shelter-in-place environment. Changing consumer needs — and expectations — have dictated many of this year’s latest trends, reflecting an urgency for safe, […]
CMS since March has expanded the number of services Medicare will cover when provided via telehealth to help support access to healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are the 146 additional services, and their respective codes, that CMS will cover when provided via telehealth through the duration of the public health emergency: 1. 77427: radiation management 2. 90853: group […]
Federal health IT officials outlined their top goals and priorities for the next five years with a big focus on pushing the industry to make more patients’ health data accessible through smartphone apps. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published Friday the final 2020-2025 Federal Health IT Strategic Plan (PDF). The plan is designed to align goals and […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Monday touted several tools designed to help states rebalance their long-term care ecosystem toward home- and community-based services. The development is the latest in a series of CMS efforts aimed at strengthening home- and community-based services amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with the ultimate goal of […]
In fiscal year 2021, CMS will penalize 2,545 hospitals for having too many Medicare patients readmitted within 30 days, according to federal data cited by Kaiser Health News. This is the ninth year of the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program. To determine penalties for fiscal 2021, CMS examined hospitals’ 30-day readmission rates for patients who had originally […]