Hold the Phone: Audio-Only Telehealth Expanding in New York and other States, but National Policies May Lag Wednesday, May 12, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic has seen a wave of telehealth policy changes across the nation at both federal and state levels. Such changes have expanded access to health care and addressed underutilization in chronic disease management while minimizing the risk of exposure for individuals seeking care. One such policy change in particular has received widespread attention and support from industry stakeholders and lawmakers alike: expansion of telehealth to include audio-only telephonic communications. However, the longevity of telehealth’s expansion to audio-only services remains uncertain as states and the federal government each pursue revisions to pandemic-era policies and flexibilities.
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Medicare providers face a nearly 10% reimbursement cut in 2022. Our Health Care Legislative & Public Policy Team does the math and explains how a combination of sequester cuts and expiring reimbursement support could bring a shock to providers accepting Medicare on January 1, 2022.
The CARES Act extended a 2% moratorium from the Budget Control Act of 2011 until 2022
The American Rescue Plan Act could trigger the 4% cut from the Statutory PAYGO Act of 2010 in 2022
Last year’s Consolidated Appropriations Act 3.75% reimbursement bump-up expires in 2022
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Medicare payments had been subject to “sequestration” in the form of a 2 percent payment reduction for more than seven years. Designed as a budget enforcement tool to control federal spending, the statutory requirement for this sequester was enacted as part of the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA) and applied to payments starting in fiscal
April 07, 2021
During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, patients who most frequently used telehealth for cardiovascular care tended to be younger and privately insured, to have more comorbidities, and to be from underrepresented racial groups, according to data from Los Angeles. Additionally, both diagnostic testing and medication prescribing decreased for remote visits following the start of the pandemic.
Video and telephone appointments were not a new phenomenon in 2020, but by March, they became a lifeline for many patients who were unable or hesitant to access in-person care.
“The pandemic really jump-started the shift to telemedicine, but I think a lot of people found that they really liked the convenience of those visits and I think that there s a good chance that telehealth is definitely going to be here to stay even as the pandemic wanes,” lead author Neal Yuan, MD (Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA), told TCTMD. “It s a really important topic and definit
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On March 24 – 26, 2021, the American Health Law Association (AHLA) held a virtual Institute on Medicare and Medicaid Payment Issues. The program addresses legal and regulatory issues related to reimbursement and brings together a variety of stakeholders from private practice and key government regulatory agencies in the healthcare space, including representatives from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), and the Department of Justice (DOJ). The government stakeholders often provide valuable insights into what the industry as a whole and providers can expect in a post-pandemic world and with a new administration.
Will a new administration spark a renewed focus on value-based care?
Will a new administration spark a renewed focus on value-based care?
While the Covid-19 pandemic has strained the healthcare industry, this administration has the advantage of being able to leverage everything we have learned over the past year to advance the next generation of value-based care.
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As the new administration settles in at the White House, it’s clear that a major focus of attention is on the very important industry of healthcare. The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has increased the urgency of ensuring that all Americans have affordable, equitable access to quality healthcare. But as efforts are made to address many short-term needs, consideration must be given to also making changes that are sustainable, beneficial, and endure long into the future.