The Alliance for Connected Care has compiled polls on patient and provider adoption, acceptance, and satisfaction with telehealth during the COVID-19 public health emergency. This chart has also been added to our Studies & Reports page. The Alliance will continue to update the chart with telehealth polls as they are published. COVID-19 Telehealth Polls - [...]
On April 30, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has released another Interim Final Rule, implementing significant additional changes for telehealth. Specifically, this Interim Final Rule includes more changes created using the statutory authority of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). These changes come from both new 1135 waivers and the [...]
State Expansion of Telehealth and Licensing Waivers During the public health emergency, all 50 states and the District of Columbia used emergency authority to waive some aspect(s) of state licensure requirements to facilitate patients getting care. This has provided an unprecedented opportunity for patients, providers, and policymakers to explore the impact of cross-state care. [...]
Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) for Telehealth The National Emergency Management Association released guidance on using the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) to facilitate telehealth across state lines. EMAC is a national disaster-relief compact ratified by all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and all U.S. territories. On April 1, The National Emergency [...]
As part of its announcement on “Sweeping Regulatory Changes to Help U.S. Healthcare System Address COVID-19 Patient Surge the Administration included significant additional Medicare telehealth changes, including: CMS will now pay for more than 80 additional services when furnished via telehealth. These include emergency department visits, initial nursing facility and discharge visits, and home visits, [...]
On March 25, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar sent a letter to Governors calling on them to take a number of actions to strengthen the healthcare workforce as it faces the COVID-19 pandemic, including: Allow licensure across state lines - either in person or through telemedicine Waive state-level regulatory barriers to [...]
The Reality of the New Telehealth Authority in Medicare By Krista Drobac, Executive Director, Alliance for Connected Care On Friday, Congress passed, and the President signed the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act. This legislation gave the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) the authority to waive telehealth restrictions in Medicare, thereby creating [...]
Modern Healthcare | April 1, 2019 "Telehealth use jumped 53% from 2016 to 2017, outpacing all other sites of care, according to a new report. "Telehealth utilization grew nearly twice as fast in urban than rural areas over that span, according to a new white paper from Fair Health, which parsed its database of 28 [...]
On Thursday, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized the Calendar Year 2019 (CY19) Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS), which lays out reimbursement rates for physicians and other health professionals who provide services to Medicare beneficiaries. This year’s rule is another exciting step forward for the telehealth world, with new services like virtual check-ins, [...]
On Friday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule regarding Medicare Part C and Part D benefits. The proposal is the next step in the implementation of the Bipartisan Budget Act which authorized Medicare Advantage (MA) plans to offer, as part of the basic benefit package, additional telehealth benefits beyond [...]