While providers struggle to provide health care to their patients amid the coronavirus contagion concerns, recent regulatory and reimbursement changes will help ease the path to the provision of healthcare via telehealth.
On March 6, 2020, President Donald Trump signed into law an $8.3 billion emergency coronavirus disease 2019 (“COVID-19”) response funding package. In addition to providing funding for the development of treatments and public health funding for prevention, preparedness, and response, the bill authorizes the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar (referred to herein as the “Secretary”), to waive Medicare restrictions on the provision of services via telehealth during this public health emergency.
Greater utilization of telehealth during the COVID-19 outbreak will reduce providers’ and patients’ exposure to the virus in health care facilities. Telehealth is especially useful for mild cases of illness that can be managed at the patient’s home, thereby decreasing the volume of individuals seeking care in facilities. To further facilitate the increased utilization of telehealth, the Centers for Disease Control’s interim guidance for healthcare facilities notes that healthcare providers can communicate with patients by telephone if formal telehealth systems are not available. This allows providers to have greater flexibility when telehealth technology providers lack the bandwidth to accommodate this increase in telehealth utilization or are otherwise unavailable.
Blog Editors
Recent Updates
- New Proposed Federal Legislation Takes Aim at Concerns Regarding Perceived “Looting” of Health Care Systems by Private Equity Investors
- Podcast: The Future of Laboratory Testing Just Got a Little Clearer - FDA's Final Rule on LDTs – Diagnosing Health Care
- How Does the End of Chevron Deference Change the Relationship Between the Health Care Industry, Federal Regulators, and Congress?
- Podcast: Down Goes Chevron: A 40-Year Precedent Overturned by the Supreme Court – Diagnosing Health Care
- Thoughts: AB 3129 Expands Its Reach