Building off its Hospital Without Walls initiative, it’s offering new flexibilities around telehealth and remote patient monitoring as the country enters “a new level of crisis response,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma. By Mike MiliardNovember 25, 202004:50 PM The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Wednesday took several new steps to help U.S. hospitals […]
The Acute Hospital Care at Home program would allow participating hospitals to qualify for Medicare waivers to treat patients at home via telehealth, reducing the strain on EDs and in-patient services. By Eric Wicklund November 25, 2020 – Six health systems across the country are expanding their telehealth platform to treat patients at home under a new program […]
The Calendar Year (CY) 2021 final rule updating the Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) includes increases in the national, standardized 30-day period payment and per-visit payment for home health agencies (HHAs) and makes notable changes to labor market delineations that impact the geographic wage index, but maintains many of the other policies and procedures previously […]
The American Telemedicine Association said the newly released final rules move the healthcare industry closer to a value-based care model. By Kat JercichNovember 25, 202009:58 AM The American Telemedicine Association this week issued a statement in response to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ final rules regarding the Physician Self-Referral Law (also known […]
Hospital visit recovery across key metrics is still down compared to pre-pandemic levels, and new consumer research suggests volumes could stay low as patients prefer telehealth services. By Jacqueline LaPointe November 25, 2020 – Hospital visit recovery may be hitting another bump in the road as new consumer research indicates that patients prefer telehealth services and other alternative […]
Remote patient monitoring ecosystems should not be treated in the same way as traditional endpoints, say cybersecurity experts. By Kat Jercich November 24, 202001:00 PM As the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to push patients away from in-person care, many health systems have ramped up their remote patient monitoring ecosystems. But with that increase in endpoints […]
The OIG’s Final Rule on changes to the Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute creates several new safe harbors that will help providers create and expand telehealth platforms and remote patient monitoring programs. By Eric Wicklund November 24, 2020 – New safe harbors proposed for the Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute could help providers expand their telehealth and remote patient […]
The first of a two-part story on 10 takeaways about the telehealth boom. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a bumpy ride in the U.S., featuring one controversy after another. One of the few areas of agreement is that the widespread adoption of telehealth amid the pandemic has been, by and large, a positive development. The […]
CMS released the 2021 physician fee schedule Dec. 1 with expanded telehealth services, remote physiologic monitoring updates and an extension for telecommunications tech supervision. Seven takeaways: 1. CMS clarified its payment policies related to the remote physiologic monitoring services for CPT codes 99453, 99454, 99091, 99457 and 99458, which were finalized in recent years. These services include remote monitoring of weight, […]
Fact sheet Dec 01, 2020 On December 1, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule that includes updates on policy changes for Medicare payments under the Physician Fee Schedule (PFS), and other Medicare Part B issues, on or after January 1, 2021. The calendar year (CY) 2021 PFS final […]
Today the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the annual Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) final rule, prioritizing CMS’ investment in primary care and chronic disease management by increasing payments to physicians and other practitioners for the additional time they spend with patients, especially those with chronic conditions. The rule allows non-physician practitioners to […]
A bill introduced last month would deny certain federal funding to states who don’t join the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, which aims to improve telehealth expansion by streamlining licensure applications. By Eric Wicklund November 24, 2020 – A group of Congressmen wants to prod states into joining the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, which aims to make it easier […]
The Medicare home health benefit does not currently permit the inclusion of telehealth services as a reimbursable service as part of the plan of care. Despite this, many home health agencies (HHAs) have found great value for their patients in including telehealth as part of care delivery and do so despite the lack of reimbursement. […]
The Alliance of Community Health Plans urged Congress to consider making telehealth flexibilities more concrete and increasing federal burden for coronavirus testing coverage. By Kelsey Waddill November 23, 2020 – The Alliance of Community Health Plans (ACHP) urged Congress to take steps toward making telehealth flexibilities permanent and to ensure that coronavirus testing is available to consumers without cost-sharing. “One […]