Telehealth changes that helped physicians and patients during the COVID-19 pandemic could become permanent under a new bill pending in Congress. Meanwhile, another leading physician group is supporting site-neutral payment for medical services. The two issues have sparked renewed discussion this month due to proposals by federal policy makers. CONNECT in Congress A bipartisan group of 60 […]
Dive Brief: Dive Insight: Permanently expanding telemedicine access has broad bipartisan support in Congress. A number of bills have been introduced to codify more telehealth protections after COVID-19, including CONNECT, which is considered the most comprehensive virtual care legislation by advocacy groups. Since CONNECT was first introduced in 2016, a number of the bill’s original provisions have […]
What’s the news: A bipartisan group of 60 senators has reintroduced the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act. The CONNECT for Health Act, S. 2016, will expand coverage of telehealth services through Medicare, make permanent COVID-19 telehealth flexibilities, improve health outcomes, and make it easier for patients to connect […]
June 16, 2023 – In support of continued telehealth access, a bipartisan group of 60 United States senators reintroduced the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act to expand Medicare coverage of telehealth, sustain virtual care flexibilities, enhance health outcomes, and ease healthcare communication. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the efficacy of telehealth. Greater […]
The CONNECT For Health Act has been filed again in both the Senate and House, and supporters say the groundswell for expanded telehealth coverage and services could finally give the bill the momentum it needs for passage. KEY TAKEAWAYS The CONNECT for Health Act, first introduced in 2016, aims to expand oportunities and coverage for […]
2023: New Federal Developments New Item Activity S. 1699: Tech to Save Moms ActIntroduced May 18, 2023 This bill would require 1) the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to test payment and delivery models regarding the adoption and use of telehealth tools for screening, monitoring, and managing health complications during the pregnancies of Medicaid beneficiaries, […]
On May 19, 2023, Novitas Solutions and First Coast Options sent an email to certain interested parties, with whom they had engaged following the multijurisdictional contractor advisory committee (CAC) meeting explaining that they have decided to not pursue at this time a local coverage determination for remote physiological monitoring (RPM) and remote therapeutic monitoring (RTM). […]
Over the last several years, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Missouri has been expanding access to care through telehealth, urging consumers to use this valuable tool as an entry point to care that is fast, easy and more affordable. In the early days of the pandemic, we worked with our care provider partners […]
Tuesday, June 6, 2023 Telehealth experienced massive growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, due in no small part to various regulatory and reimbursement policies that federal agencies implemented following a declaration by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in early 2020 that the COVID-19 pandemic was a public health emergency (PHE). Although the […]
The use of telehealth increased exponentially in 2020 and 2021 as health care providers and patients responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimated that the use of telehealth services by Medicaid enrollees increased 15-fold from March 2020 to February 2022.1 This increasing utilization was spurred in part by Medicaid agencies adjusting policies […]
The COVID-19 public health emergency declared by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) expired earlier this month. But that doesn’t mean the deadly respiratory illness has disappeared, warned Deb Houry, MD, MPH, chief medical officer and deputy director for program and science at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). COVID-19 and […]
The Defense Health Agency plans to advance its use of virtual technology with an aim to get the patient connected to the medical provider no matter where they are, according to one of the agency’s top doctors. Dr. Brian Lein, assistant director for health care administration for the DHA, said the agency needs to invest […]
America, and for that matter the world, is facing a growing challenge in caring for two expanding groups of patients — those 60 and older and patients with such chronic diseases as cancer, diabetes and obesity. Across the globe, the 60-and-older population is increasing quickly and will surpass 2 billion by 2050, according to the World […]
May 24, 2023 – Earlier this month, a group of six United States House representatives introduced the Protecting Rural Telehealth Access Act, which intends to maintain regional telehealth access and Medicare coverage flexibilities enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The expansion of telehealth that took place during the COVID-19 pandemic helped boost access to care, including in rural areas. […]
America, and for that matter the world, is facing a growing challenge in caring for two expanding groups of patients — those 60 and older and patients with such chronic diseases as cancer, diabetes and obesity. Across the globe, the 60-and-older population is increasing quickly and will surpass 2 billion by 2050, according to the World […]