The US Congress’s Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) has asked the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to ramp up telehealth utilization while, at the same time, cutting the payment rates associated with it. The request comes as the post-pandemic status of telehealth looks […]
Proposed US DEA Rules Necessitate In-Person Visits For Certain Drugs Prescribed Via Telehealth
New rules proposed by the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) will require patients to have in-person visits when prescribing certain controlled drugs to patients who primarily receive care via telehealth. While many controlled drugs are targeted, the rules are an expansion to access for buprenorphine […]
Talking Remote Care and Reimbursement with Bronwyn Spira of Force Therapeutics
The US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) introduced new CPT codes last year, reducing barriers via remote care. In a new video by Managed Healthcare Executive, Force Therapeutics’ Bronwyn Spira talks about how these new codes affected outcomes and why outcomes-based reimbursement […]
Future of Medicare Telehealth Uncertain as End of COVID-19 PHE Nears
As the May 11 end of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) approaches, uncertainty surrounds the future of Medicare telehealth services. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 will preserve some of the provisions that allowed additional telehealth flexibility, but the bill doesn’t cover […]
American Hospital Association Asks Congress for Permanent Telehealth Expansion
With pandemic-era telehealth expansions expiring soon with the approaching end or the COVID-19 public health emergency, the American Hospital Association (AHA) is calling on lawmakers to extend them permanently. The professional organization penned two letters, one to each house of Congress, with a […]
Oncology Telehealth Cuts Costs for Some Patients
A newly published paper in JAMA Network Open shows that some cancer patients saved significantly on travel costs by using telehealth oncology services. The study looked at completed telehealth visits from 11,688 adult patients up to 65 years of age and analyzed travel costs and loss of productivity […]
In-Person Care and Telehealth Private Insurer Payments Similar in 2020
A new analysis by the Kaiser Health Foundation finds that reimbursements from private insurance plans were similar for in-person and telehealth appointments during 2020. The researchers analyzed data from over 90 million claims. The average cost for telehealth visits covering serious evaluation and […]
State Medicaid Officials Look to Make Pandemic-Era Telehealth Expansions Permanent
A recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) found Medicaid officials from several US states were looking to make telehealth expansions enacted during the pandemic permanent. The survey was made available to Medicaid officials in every state, with several saying they would continue […]
The Bathroom is the Future of Digital Preventative Healthcare
The implementation of digital health solutions propelled during the COVID-19 pandemic. The rapid development and implementation of health technology has already generated large amounts of real-world data (RWD). In a new Forbes article, Thomas Serval, CEO of Baracoda, discusses how these technologies […]
Improving Access to Care for Indigenous Americans Via Telemedicine
Indigenous people face significant systemic barriers to accessing healthcare that result in worse health outcomes. The Indian Health Service (IHS) of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) exists to serve this community, but the remote regions where indigenous tribal nations are […]
