Capitol BuildingAs requested by Congress as part of an appropriations bill signed into law late last year, this month, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a report highlighting its e-health and telemedicine efforts.  The report makes for interesting reading, and while there are no significant surprises in the report, it offers a clear snapshot of some of the agency’s thinking regarding virtual care.

The first thing I noted in the report is the agency’s view that “telehealth holds promise as a means of increasing access to care and improving health outcomes.”  This is important because it has not always been clear whether the agency views telehealth quite in the same favorable way as other stakeholders increasingly do.  The other thing I noted was the agency’s view that the various alternative payment methods currently being tested may facilitate expansion of telehealth.

Among other things, the report details some of the policy challenges faced by telehealth stakeholders:

  • Significant variability in telehealth coverage from one payer to another.
  • State licensure requirements for clinicians and the administrative burden such requirements impose on clinicians.
  • Credentialing and privileging.
  • Gaps in access to affordable broadband.

HHS indicates that many reforms are currently being tested or implemented to address these challenges. For example, in the area of reimbursement, the agency notes that it is currently testing more expansive telehealth coverage through its Next Generation ACO Demonstration, and highlights MACRA’s incentives for physicians to use telehealth.  The report references the agency’s new rule that permits the use of telehealth modalities to provide Medicaid home health services.

The report also provides an overview of telehealth-related federal activity including:

  • The number of telehealth grants administered by HRSA and SAMHSA.
  • The establishment of the Federal Telemedicine Working Group (comprised of 26 agencies and departments such as USDA and the FCC) to facilitate telehealth education and information sharing.
  • ONC developing an inventory of federal telehealth activities.
  • AHRQ providing an evidence map of the available research regarding telehealth.
  • The continued great telehealth work being done within the VA and reasons why that model may not be scalable.

Overall, the report is an illuminating but relatively unsurprising take on agency thinking.  In particular, two nuggets stood out. First, the agency appears to view chronic disease management as a particularly good fit for telehealth.  In recounting that almost half of all adults have at least one chronic illness and that chronic disease accounts for 75 percent of all health expenditures, the report concludes that telehealth “appears to hold particular promise for chronic disease management.” It goes to reason that any expansion of telehealth under Medicare will probably first focus on chronic disease management. Second, HHS signaled the importance of Medicare Advantage in any telehealth expansion effort, by including a proposal in the President’s budget request for FY 2017 to expand the ability of MA organizations to provide telehealth by eliminating otherwise applicable Part B requirements that certain services be provided only in-person.

Back to Health Law Advisor Blog

Search This Blog

Blog Editors

Related Services

Topics

Archives

Jump to Page

Subscribe

Sign up to receive an email notification when new Health Law Advisor posts are published:

Privacy Preference Center

When you visit any website, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. This information might be about you, your preferences or your device and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to. The information does not usually directly identify you, but it can give you a more personalized web experience. Because we respect your right to privacy, you can choose not to allow some types of cookies. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings. However, blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.

Performance Cookies

These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.