The Big Picture Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have dramatically—but temporarily—expanded coverage and reimbursement for telehealth services. On December 1, CMS issued the final calendar year (CY) 2021 Medicare physician fee schedule (MPFS) final rule and interim final rule, including several changes to Medicare Part […]
On December 3, 2020, HHS issued its fourth amendment to the Declaration for Medical Countermeasures Against COVID-19 under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act). The PREP Act authorizes the Secretary of HHS to issue a declaration to provide liability protections to certain individuals and entities (Covered Persons) against any claim of loss […]
In a letter to Congressional leaders, several telehealth groups have asked that emergency measures enacted during the coronavirus pandemic be kept in place through 2021 as Congress continues to work on long-term coverage. By Eric Wicklund December 15, 2020 – Telehealth advocates are lobbying Congress to get something done before the end of the year to ensure continued […]
As of December 1, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has permanently expanded the number of telehealth services available to Medicare beneficiaries and enrollees as part of the FY2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule (Final Rule). This historic expansion follows President Trump’s August 2020 Executive Order on Improving Rural Health and Telehealth […]
The historic $900 billion coronavirus (COVID-19) relief package deal that the President signed into law this past weekend – the second largest economic stimulus legislation ever produced by Congress – includes $7 billion in new funding for broadband-related purposes. Most of these funds will go to new programs seeking to narrow the digital divide by […]
HELP IS ONLY ABUTTON CLICK AWAY The V.ALRT is a wearable help button that can be carried discreetly in a pocket or a bag, worn on the wrist, or around the neck as a pendant. The V.ALRT uses Bluetooth® SMART technology in association with a mobile application, to initiate calls and textmessages from a smartphone. […]
The spread of COVID-19 has caused an explosion in telehealth consultation and is catalyzing the use of remote patient monitoring (RPM) thanks to an acceleration of reimbursement from commercial and government health insurers (payers) during the pandemic. Look no further than statistics from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that show telehealth visits during the pandemic surpassed 11 million through mid-September of this year. Before CMS expanded coverage of telehealth for seniors in […]
The $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill signed into law by President Trump Dec. 27 offers Medicare coverage for telemental health and rural hospitals and funding for broadband connectivity, but criticism of the bill remains. The reason: the bill doesn’t extend the emergency telehealth access and the coverage provisions offered early on during the pandemic. Lobbying to make at […]
The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Wireline Competition Bureau announced Wednesday that it is requesting public comment for Round 2 distribution of an additional $249.95 million for its COVID-19 Telehealth Program; the Round 2 funding comes from the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. The FCC started the program in March 2020 with $200 million of CARES Act funding in order […]
It’s no secret that telehealth use skyrocketed in the early stages of COVID-19 as both patients and health systems sought to minimize the risk of transmitting the disease. According to data from the EHR vendor Epic Systems, telehealth visits peaked in mid-April, when they accounted for 69% of all ambulatory care visits. This percentage dropped substantially by […]
The COVID-19 pandemic abruptly shifted our ideas about what is possible at home. Many people continue to work from home, others switched to virtual school, and the video chats with friends and family that became common last March remain a regular part of life. The way we think about the delivery of health care has […]
The FCC is seeking advice on how to distribute the second round of its COVID-19 telehealth program, which recently received an additional $249.95 million in funds. The additional funding was finalized Dec. 27 as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act. The money will support the COVID-19 telehealth program, which the FCC established last April to equip healthcare providers with […]
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has extended the public health emergency surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic until April, extending key waivers for regulations on a variety of topics such as telehealth. The public health emergency declaration was originally scheduled to expire Jan. 21. HHS Secretary Alex Azar extended the emergency Thursday, according to […]
CMS just issued a correction to its guidance on 2021 Medicare rules for remote physiologic monitoring (RPM) services. The correction is effective January 1, 2021 and revises the preamble commentary in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule, previously published on December 1, 2020. It adds language that was inadvertently deleted from the Final Rule, summarizing and responding some […]
As the new year begins and the nation looks to tackle COVID-19 and move on, telehealth will be front and center in a lot of conversations from the halls of Congress to the patient’s home. By Eric Wicklund January 25, 2021 – Telehealth policy and new methods for connected care will figure prominently in healthcare during 2021, and Xtelligent […]