Time to modernize telehealth policy Sen. John Boozman
R-Arkansas
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services launched policy improvements to remove barriers to some telehealth services. The public health emergency has made it clear more must be done to improve and expand access to this manner of health care delivery. We must ensure health care providers and patients have the requisite tools and resources while also modernizing federal policy to support the growing demand for telehealth.
During the last week of March 2020, telehealth visits increased 154 percent compared to the same time the previous year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As a result of flexibilities unanimously approved under the CARES Act – which passed the same month and waives telehealth requirements for the duration of the pandemic – more people are relying on this technology to connect with their doctors.
JEFFERSON CITY - Missouri is withdrawing its State Plan Amendments for MO HealthNet Expansion, halting a Medicaid expansion plan that voters approved in August.Â
In a news release, Governor Mike Parson s office said the Missouri Department of Social Services submitted a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services Thursday to formally withdraw the plans.Â
It comes after voters approved a constitutional amendment expanding MO HealthNet eligibility to people between 100 and 138% of the Federal Poverty Line. Parson s office said the ballot initiative appropriated funds without creating a source of revenue, which is prohibited under the Missouri Constitution. Without a revenue source or funding authority from the General Assembly, we are unable to proceed with the expansion at this time and must withdraw our State Plan Amendments to ensure Missouriâs existing MO HealthNet program remains solvent, Governor Parson said in a news release. Â
Missouri Medicaid expansion won t go forward without funding, Gov. Mike Parson says Jeanne Kuang, The Kansas City Star
May 13 JEFFERSON CITY Missouri will deny Medicaid coverage to an estimated 275,000 low-income residents who become eligible for the program July 1, Gov. Mike Parson announced Thursday.
Though 53% of Missouri voters approved a 2020 ballot measure to put expanded eligibility for the state health care program into the constitution, Parson said he can t move forward without funding. The Department of Social Services on Thursday notified the federal government it was dropping the expansion.
The decision places the state squarely in the path of a lawsuit brought by expansion supporters, who hoped that even after the Republican supermajority in the legislature refused to put money in the budget for it, Parson might still allow the enrollment in July.
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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.