Biden admin ‘absolutely supportive’ of telehealth once crisis ebbs, Becerra says
Dive Brief: The Biden administration’s top health policy official on Thursday reiterated his support for expanded telehealth access after the COVID-19 national emergency expires, as Congress considers a slate of bills that would permanently nix regulatory barriers to virtual care. “We are absolutely supportive of efforts to give us the authority to utilize telehealth in greater […]
Rosen Leads Bipartisan Group of Senators to Introduce Bipartisan Legislation To Expand Access To Telehealth Services
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), and Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK), led a bipartisan group of Senators – including Senators Jon Tester (D-MT), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) – in announcing the introduction of their Rural […]
Senators Eye Medicare Coverage for Telehealth in Diabetes Prevention Programs
A group of Senators has re-introduced a bill that would establish Medicare coverage for telehealth services in CMS-sanctioned Diabetes Prevention Programs. By Eric Wicklund June 24, 2021 – A group of Senators has re-introduced a bill that would establish Medicare coverage for care providers who use telehealth in diabetes prevention programs. The Promoting Responsible and Effective Virtual Experiences through […]
Asking the Hard Questions About Telehealth
The COVID-19 pandemic revealed much about our Nation’s capacity—and shortcomings—when faced with an urgent health crisis. One positive aspect it exposed is our ability to adapt. A case in point is telehealth. Like many others, I found the healthcare community’s ability to innovate nothing short of amazing. In February 2020, just before the pandemic emerged, […]
CMS Proposes $310M Home Health Payment Boost, National Expansion of HHVBP
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Monday proposed plans to expand the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) model nationwide by the start of next year. The agency did so in its proposed payment rule for 2022. In addition to the HHVBP expansion, CMS proposed to increase Medicare payments to home health […]
ADA 2021 Study Outlines Benefits of RPM on Glycemic Control in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes
A study assessing use of remote patient monitoring in patients with type 2 diabetes outlines the impact continued participation in digital monitoring programs can have on glycemic control among this patient population. Once a distant idea discussed at scientific sessions as an approach years away from implementation, use of telehealth and remote patient monitoring have […]
Federal Agencies Make Billions Available to Support Telehealth and Close the Homework Gap
Federal agencies took several actions last week to spur broadband deployment, helping to alleviate what the pandemic has already highlighted – Americans need greater access to reliable, high-speed Internet services to continue to engage in the virtual activities, such as telehealth and distancing learning, that have now become a normal part of our daily lives. […]
Three technologies that are changing the landscape of home health organizations in 2021
When we think about 2020, healthcare inevitably comes up. While organizations continue on their mission to manage the pandemic, it’s also time for them to begin thinking about future-proofing themselves to create a more robust system of delivery. This holds especially true for home health organizations that need to actively reorganize themselves for better patient […]
Is it Time to Permanently Incorporate Telehealth Into Our Health Care Delivery System?
There is no question that during the pandemic and duration of the public health emergency, telehealth rose to the occasion demonstrating its tremendous benefits to the health care industry and will likely remain an integral part of the health care delivery system. As we move out of the pandemic and the public health emergency wanes, […]
Pandemic was a ‘tipping point’ for government modernization
The COVID-19 pandemic prodded governments into a “tipping point” that brought long-overdue digital transformations, yet also revealed the distances many still have to go, according to a new report this week from the consulting firm Deloitte. The study, which queried 800 government officials from eight countries including the United States, found that many agencies are […]
Hospital-at-Home Model Yields Lower Costs, Fewer Hospitalizations for Cancer Patients
Cancer patients who receive hospital-at-home care are less likely to experience unplanned hospitalizations, new research suggests. Those individuals likewise account for lower health care costs. The new findings — focused on Huntsman at Home, a cancer hospital-at-home model operated by the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah — were published earlier this month […]
CONNECT Act Reintroduced in Congress
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 25, 2021)—Recently, legislation has been introduced in both the Senate and House of Representatives that would make various improvements to the provision of telehealth. The Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act of 2021 (S. 1512/H.R. 2903) is being led by Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Roger […]
What will home care look like post-COVID-19? Brooks-LaSure will help guide us
It is not a coincidence that two symbolic healthcare policy events took place this week. I’m talking about the Senate’s confirmation of Chiquita Brooks-LaSure as administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the introduction of H.R. 3447, the Permanency for Audio-Only Telehealth Act. The latter would allow for Medicare coverage of audio-only telehealth services […]
MANCHIN, ERNST, SHAHEEN, MORAN INTRODUCE BIPARTISAN BILL TO MAKE RURAL, UNDERSERVED TELEHEALTH FLEXIBILITIES PERMANENT
Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Jerry Moran (R-KS) introduced the bipartisan Protecting Rural Telehealth Access Act to make current telehealth flexibilities permanent. This legislation would ensure rural and underserved community healthcare providers are able to continue offering telehealth services after the current public health emergency ends. […]