Alliance Statement for the Record to Senate Finance Hearing on COVID-19 Health Care Flexiblities
ALLIANCE FOR CONNECTED CARE STATEMENT FOR THE RECORD
“COVID-19 Health Care Flexibilities: Perspectives, Experiences, and Lessons Learned”
The Alliance submitted a letter to the Senate Finance Committee on the “COVID-19 Health Care Flexibilities: Perspectives, Experiences, and Lessons Learned.”
The Alliance will focus comments on 1) Research and evidence we have gathered thus far; 2) Recommendations for future telehealth expansion that Congress should consider – including steps to ensure equitable access; and 3) Recommendations for telehealth “guardrail” provisions that Congress should consider to prevent fraud, waste and abuse in the health care system.
While we prefer the implementation of permanent policies described in our recommendations below, the Alliance supports a two-year clean extension of telehealth flexibilities exercised during the COVID-19 pandemic, including 1834(m) Medicare telehealth waivers, a safe harbor for employer-subsidized telehealth for people with Health Savings Account eligible High Deductible Health Plans, and the flexibility for Critical Access Hospitals to continue to bill telehealth as they have during the pandemic. We want policymakers to feel comfortable that access to telehealth services in Medicare will not negatively impact health care quality, or the federal budget. Therefore, we recommend Congress wait to make permanent policy until more peer-reviewed research has been published, government studies – such as the study underway by AHRQ – have been completed, the Office of the Inspector General has examined the level of fraud in telehealth during the Public Health Emergency, and when we have observed what the use of telehealth during “normal times.”
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Open in new tab Alliance Support Letter for Delaware HB 21 & HB 141
The Alliance submitted a letter of support to Rep. Sherry Dorsey Walker, Chair of the Delaware House Sunset Committee (Policy Analysis & Government Accountability), for House Bill 21 and House Bill 141.
House Bill 21 would adopt the Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Compact. Under this compact, Advance Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) licensed in a Compact member state may practice in another Compact member state, allowing APRNs to have one multistate license with the ability to practice in all Compact states without having to obtain additional licenses. Its companion bill, House Bill 141, would align the Delaware Board of Nursing statute with the APRN Compact to advance APRN practice through eliminating barriers such as collaborative practice agreements and granting full practice authority in conjunction with licensure to improve access to care for Delaware patients.
The APRN Compact would establish multistate compacts that have reciprocity and that do not require additional licensing, while simultaneously helping to improve patient access to quality health care. Additionally, removing the requirement for collaborative practice agreements for licensure purposes through House Bill 141 would allow APRNs to practice at the top of their licenses, allowing them to use all their education and training to care for patients.
Read the full letter here and below:
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Alliance Statement for the Record to House Ways & Means Committee Hearing on Telehealth
ALLIANCE FOR CONNECTED CARE STATEMENT FOR THE RECORD
“Charting the Path Forward for Telehealth”
The Alliance submitted a letter to the House Ways & Means Committee, Subcommittee on Health on the “Charting the Path Forward for Telehealth.”
The Alliance provided: 1) recommendations for telehealth expansions that Congress should consider – including steps to ensure equitable access, 2) comments about telehealth research and evidence, and 3) recommendations for telehealth “guardrail” provisions that Congress could consider, if it is believed they are necessary.
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Alliance Support Letter for Missouri SB 193
The Alliance submitted a letter of support to Senator Bob Onder, the Chair of the Missouri Senate Committee on Health and Pensions, for Senate Bill 193.
This legislation would remove geographic proximity requirements in collaborative practice arrangements between physicians and advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) based in rural health clinics. The bill would also allow APRNs providing nursing services under a collaborative practice arrangement to provide such services outside the geographic proximity requirement if the collaborating physician and APRN utilize telehealth in the care of the patient and if the services are provided in a rural area located in a health professional shortage area.
The Alliance believes that eliminating geographic proximity requirements, especially for telehealth services, will significantly improve access to care for patients. Such barriers often delay care to patients, especially in rural underserved areas where there are often provider shortages and where APRNs are predominant in the state of Missouri.
Read the full letter here and below:
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Alliance Support Letter for Missouri SB 584
The Alliance submitted a letter of support to Senator Jeanie Riddle, the Chair of the Missouri Senate Committee on Professional Registration, for Senate Bill 584.
The bill would repeal the requirement under current law that supervised practice of an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) under a collaborative practice arrangement by a collaborating physician occur for a one-month period of time. The bill would also repeal the requirement that an APRN can only provide telehealth services in rural areas of need in order to practice telehealth services outside the geographic proximity requirements of a collaborative practice agreement.
The Alliance believes that eliminating geographic proximity requirements, especially for telehealth services, will significantly improve access to care for patients. Such barriers often delay care to patients, especially in rural underserved areas where there are often provider shortages and where APRNs are predominant in the state of Missouri.
Read the full letter here and below:
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2021 Telehealth Summit for Health Systems
Thanks to those who were able to join the Alliance for Connected Care for the virtual Telehealth Summit for Health Systems on April 22-23, 2021.
The Alliance for Connected Care held its virtual Telehealth Summit for Health Systems on April 22-23, 2021. Attendees heard from federal policymakers from the White House and Congress on policy issues related to telehealth and virtual care, and participated in Breakout Sessions led by health system executives around the following topics: consumer engagement in virtual care, post-pandemic licensure portability, hardwiring virtual care transformation, and improving access across the digital and social divide. This recording includes opening remarks made by speakers on the first day of the Summit.
Slides from the opening session, entitled “A Pivotal Moment for Telehealth & RPM Policy: A Look Ahead to 2021,” can be found here.
Please note: Only Day 1 of the Summit from 11:30 – 1:30pm ET was open to the press. The Breakout Sessions were interactive working sessions and were considered off the record. As such, recordings and slides from the Breakout Sessions will not be made available.
Please contact Casey Osgood at casey.osgood@connectwithcare.org with any questions.
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Date: Thursday, April 22 – Friday, April 23, 2021
Time: 11:30am – 2:30pm EST
Alliance Letter to ONDCP Special Telemedicine Registration
The Alliance for Connected Care sent the attached letter to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) applauding their inclusion of the telemedicine special registration for the prescribing of controlled substances this year as part of the Biden Administration’s First-Year Drug Policy Priorities.
The Biden Administration outlined its drug policy priorities for its first year, stressing harm reduction, racial equity and helping people with substance use disorder find employment. As part of the announcement there was included a commitment to move forward the special registration for telemedicine prescribing of controlled substances this year. As you remember, the Alliance led a letter on this issue last fall (in addition to many previous actions).
“In the first year, the Biden-Harris Administration will work through ONDCP to coordinate with other White House components and the interagency to:
- Publish final rules this year regarding telemedicine special registration and methadone treatment vans; and”
Read the full letter here and below:
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Group Letter to HHS Secretary Becerra on Virtual DPP
Roughly 20 organizations, including the Alliance for Connected Care have signed a letter asking Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to extend Medicare coverage for virtual visits during the PHE and “work on longer-term reforms” that would make connected health a permanent part of the program.
Given the ongoing and worsening prediabetes challenges facing seniors, expectations that the PHE will continue throughout 2021, and the cessation of many in-person DPP programs, we believe CMS must act immediately to preserve access to these services. We believe that the Department of Health and Human Services should immediately use its emergency authority to remove in-person requirements from Medicare DPP services for the remainder of the COVID-19 PHE. We then strongly recommend that data from this expansion be leveraged to evaluate the merits of expanding virtual MDPP services permanently. As you know, better management of prediabetes has significant potential to both help beneficiaries and prevent unnecessary future expenditures for the Medicare program.
The letter can be viewed here.
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The Rural Behavioral Health Access Act Introduction
View the legislation announcement on the National Rural Health Association website. A recording of the announcement event is above — featuring:
- U.S. Representative Dan Kildee (D-MI)
- U.S. Representative Brad Wenstrup (R-OH)
- Nancy-Ann DeParle, Former Deputy Chief of Staff, the White House
- Brock Slabach, Senior Vice President, National Rural Health Association
- Rose Goick Saddler RN, MSN, Administrator, Ascension Standish Hospital
- Alan Bird, Chief Executive Officer, Adams County Regional Medical Center
The Alliance for Connected Care is pleased to join the National Rural Health Association in applauding this important legislation which shines a light on the need for critical access hospitals to be able to flexibly provide telehealth services to their patients. The Rural Behavioral Health Access Act should be included alongside other important telehealth changes Congress must pass before the end of the public health emergency.” – Krista Drobac, Executive Director, Alliance for Connected Care
Alliance Letter of Support for Texas SB 992
The Alliance submitted a letter of support to Senator Kelly Hancock, Chair of the Texas Senate Committee on Business & Commerce, for Senate Bill 992.
The bill would allow health professionals located outside of the state of Texas to provide telehealth services to patients residing within the state of Texas so long as they are licensed and authorized to provide the service in the state in which they are licensed. The bill would maintain that the standard of care for such services would be the same as for health professionals providing in-person health care services to a patient, and would allow for the establishment of a provider-patient relationship via a telehealth visit.
Read the full letter here and below:
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