News & Media

Legislators Urge FCC to Open Up TV Airwaves for Telemedicine

August 1, 2017 mHealth Intelligence

Congress and telemedicine advocates are jumping on the bandwagon to open up so-called TV white space for telehealth and other uses. A bipartisan group of 43 members of Congress is urging the Federal Communications Commission to designate unused TV airwaves for the broadcasting of high-speed Internet to underserved parts of the country. The lobbying effort follows an announcement last month by Microsoft that it would use TV white space – unused UHV television band spectrum below the 700 MHz frequency range that enables wireless signals to travel over hills and through buildings and trees – to bring Internet to millions of rural Americans and foster development of telehealth and other programs.

read more >>

Congress is Coming at CMS From All Angles With Telehealth Bills

July 31, 2017 mHealth Intelligence

With the CONNECT for Health Act showing no signs of positive momentum on Capitol Hill, telehealth-friendly legislators are trying a new tactic: Introduce several telemedicine bills aimed at different facets of Medicare, with the hope that at least one becomes law. The latest proposal, offered by U.S. Reps. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) and Bill Johnson (R-Ohio), takes a more evidenced-based approach to telehealth policy. The as-yet-unnumbered bill directs Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price to pick and choose which telehealth services are either reducing wasteful spending or improving clinical outcomes – or both – and allows him to carve out Medicare restrictions that hinder the service’s expansion. “The bill … aims to increase telehealth services through Medicare by removing some of the arbitrary barriers to access currently in place,” Johnson said in a joint press release with Matsui. “Increasing access to telehealth isn’t a partisan issue; rather, it’s a service that has proven to be very beneficial to many rural Americans – and it should be expanded. Instead of placing restrictions on telehealth coverage through Medicare, we need to do the opposite and allow for more people the opportunity to utilize this emerging technology.”

read more >>

As Senate GOP Fumbles Health Reform, Telemedicine Delivers Better Access To Health Care

July 28, 2017 Forbes

The U.S. Senate’s push to tackle health reform is far from over, and the struggle is real. While the Congressional GOP has good intentions to restore more health freedom at the state level, they have so far failed to reach a consensus. Meanwhile, market forces and the states are already working to make health care access more convenient, price transparent, and affordable. Telemedicine, for example, is a multibillion dollar industry and a leading innovation in the health care arena. Defined as “the use of technology to deliver health care, health information, or health education at a distance,” telemedicine helps people connect more quickly to their primary, specialty, and tertiary medical needs. Patients can submit questions about non-urgent health issues and receive responses from a distant medical provider within hours without having to sacrifice quality of care. Online vision tests can be just as accurate as an in-person optometrist appointment, and renowned Centers of Excellence are partnering with rural hospitals to assist in monitoring their intensive care units (ICUs). Telemedicine’s ability to expedite the delivery of care has proven to fill in some of the health industry’s pervasive gaps, such as the ongoing rural provider shortage.

read more >>

New Bill Seeks to Expand Medicare Reimbursement for Telemedicine

July 27, 2017 mHealth Intelligence

A bill to expand Medicare coverage for telehealth services that has been kicked around on Capitol Hill since 2013 is once again in Congress’ hands. U.S. Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.) has re-introduced the Telehealth Enhancement Act (H.R. 3360), which – according to a summary of the 2015 version – would expand the list of healthcare sites eligible for Medicare reimbursements for telehealth to include urban critical access hospitals, sole community hospitals, home telehealth sites and counties with populations of fewer than 25,000 people. The bill, introduced on July 24, did not include text as of July 27. Harper, whose co-sponsors on the bill are U.S. Reps. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), Diane Black (R-Tenn.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.), first introduced the bill in 2013, then amended it in 2015. “Telehealth saves money and helps save lives,” Thompson said when the bill was first introduced in 2013. “By expanding telehealth services, we can make sure the best care and the best treatments are available to all Americans, no matter where they live.” This latest bill is one of a growing list seeking to compel the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to expand its acceptance of telehealth. Whether any of those bills makes it to law remains to be seen, but one did receive House approval this past week and could be headed to passage later this year.

read more >>

Implementation of Private Payer Parity Laws for Telehealth Services

July 20, 2017 The National Law Review

Private payer parity laws generally require private insurers and health maintenance organizations to cover, and in some cases also reimburse, for the provision of telehealth services in the same manner and at the same level as comparable in-person services. These laws are enacted at the state level, creating a complicated framework within which insurers must operate. At this point, most states have implemented some form of private payer parity law, although the specifics of each state’s laws vary. One of the most common is a rule such as Montana’s, which requires insurers to offer coverage for health care services provided by a health care provider by means of telemedicine if the services are otherwise covered by the plan. Some states, like Iowa, only mandate parity within their Medicaid programs without extending the mandate to private payers. Other states only require parity for certain types of services, like mental health services in Alaska. Lastly, Illinois and Massachusetts, require parity only when insurers opt to provide telehealth services.

read more >>

House Committee Poised to Consider Medicare Telehealth Bill

July 19, 2017 mHealth Intelligence

A bill seeking Medicare reimbursement for telestroke services could be headed to a Congressional vote this September. The FAST Act of 2017 (H.R. 1148) is included in the roster of Medicare-related bills to be reviewed this week by the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health. If it passes muster, Politico reports, the bill could be included in September legislation to re-authorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and several Medicare extender programs. Re-introduced in February by U.S. Reps. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) and Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), the Furthering Access to Stroke Telemedicine (FAST) Act would amend the Social Security Act to expand Medicare coverage of telehealth services for stroke victims. As described in a committee memo, the bill “would expand the ability of patients presenting at hospitals or at mobile stroke units to receive a Medicare reimbursed neurological consult via telemedicine.” Medicare currently reimburses for a consultation only if the originating site hospital is in a rural Health Professional Shortage Area or a county outside a Metropolitan Statistical Area. The bill has the support of, among others, the American Heart Association and American Academy of Neurology. “The FAST Act, as the name implies, will help more stroke victims gain faster access to high-quality care through remote evaluation and treatment – commonly called telestroke,” Beatty said in a February press release. “As a stroke survivor and co-chair of the Congressional Heart and Stroke Coalition, I know firsthand how minutes can literally mean the difference between life and death.”

read more >>

CMS Proposes Paying for More telehealth Services in New Rule

July 18, 2017 Healthcare IT News

Telehealth just might get a boost, even incrementally, from a proposed rule the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services posted Thursday. In the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule 2018, CMS proposed paying for new care services delivered via telehealth, including psychotherapy for crisis situations, planning for chronic care management programs, health risk assessments, interactive complexity and virtual visits to determine whether a patient is eligible for low dose computed tomography. Usual conditions apply. Virtual visits have to be conducted through an interactive telecommunication system by a doctor or authorized clinician to an eligible patient located in what CMS considers to be a telehealth originating site. In addition to the physician fee schedule, CMS also published the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems and Quality Reporting Programs on Thursday.

read more >>

Virtual Care Can Turn Solving the Access Challenge From Impossible to Possible Mission

July 3, 2017 Healthcare IT News

Currently, the typical patient waits 29 days to see a physician, according to a recently released survey from Merritt Hawkins. And, it could get worse. The country is expected to experience a shortage of about 90,000 physicians by the year 2025, according to the American Academy of Medical Colleges.  As a result, patients are apt to seek primary care for minor ailments such as a cold of flu through emergency departments – or to simply go without any treatment whatsoever.  Delivering care under such conditions could become virtually impossible.  “Access is a huge problem in American healthcare,” said Sylvan Waller, MD, a physician executive. Waller served as one of the catalysts during The Health Innovation Think Tank:  A Collaboration of Global Health Industry Thought Leaders, an event that was co-hosted by Lenovo Health, Justin Barnes Advisors, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center/Critical Care Medicine , Inventiv Health and HIMSS Media

read more >>

Telemedicine Creates Savings for Patients Who Don’t Have to Transfer to Bigger ER

June 30, 2017 The Daily Yonder; keep it rural

Rural hospitals may not save money when they treat an emergency-room patient via tele-medicine instead of transferring them to a larger facility, but patients do, according a new report.  Previous studies haven’t reached a clear conclusion about whether avoiding transfer of an ER patient saves the hospital money. But by expanding the focus to include consumer spending related to transport, researchers found that significant savings do occur, the study says.

The study tracked not just the cost of treatment but the financial burden caused by transportation expenses, loss of work time for family and friends, and similar indirect expenses. Using tele-medicine added an average of $1,700 per patient to treatment costs. But consumers saved about $5,600 in direct and indirect expenses, the study states. The net “societal gain” is about $3,800 per patient who is not transferred.  “Our study’s primary goal was to identify the amount of money saved in situations when remote emergency medicine professionals can provide the necessary insight to help local providers avoid transfer of the patient,” said Nabil Natafgi, research associate and adjunct assistant professor of health management and policy at the University of Iowa College of Public Health and study co-author. “The cost savings is significant and should help more rural health systems recognize the financial and non-financial value of telemedicine.”

read more >>

Pennsylvania Legislature Introduces Telemedicine Reimbursement Bill

June 28, 2017 mHealth Intelligence

Pennsylvania has opened the door to becoming the next state to allow full telemedicine reimbursement parity for care services. Senator Elder Vogel (R-Beaver) introduced Senate Bill 780 to define key components of telemedicine, set telemedicine licensing requirements and require that healthcare payers provide reimbursement for telemedicine services if they pay for the same service in person. Along with the Senate bill is a House companion making the rounds among state legislators. The bill would also ensure reimbursement for telehealth services under “ancillary service plans.”  These are individual or group health insurance plans, subscriber contracts or certificates that provide exclusive coverage for dental services or vision services. Healthcare services purchased through ancillary plans cannot be excluded from coverage just because they were performed via telemedicine.

read more >>

Senators Introduce Bill to Expand Rural Telehealth Services

June 26, 2017 Healthcare Informatics

U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) have introduced bipartisan legislation to expand access to rural telehealth services. The bill would allow non-rural hospitals serving rural areas to qualify for support from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF). The “Reaching Underserved Rural Areas to Lead on Telehealth Act (RURAL),” S. 1377, would update existing law to allow non-rural members of telehealth consortia to qualify for the 65 percent health-care provider broadband connectivity discount under the HCF as long as a majority of the locations within a group are serving patients in rural areas, according to a press release from Sen. Wicker’s office. “Telehealth services are critical to increasing rural Americans’ access to quality care,” Senator Wicker said in a statement. “Mississippi is leading the nation in developing telehealth technology. Our health-care providers have demonstrated that targeted investments in telehealth can increase access to life-saving services and drive down costs.” “Our bill will give telehealth service providers better incentives to serve more rural areas,” Senator Schatz said in a prepared statement. “Ultimately, that is good news for anyone who cares about expanding access to health care in Hawai‘i and other rural areas across the country.”

read more >>

UVA Cites Success with Telemedicine, Telestroke in Rural Care

June 23, 2017 

Through the use of telemedicine and telestroke in rural care, the University of Virginia (UVA) reduced 30-day hospital readmission rates by 40 percent for patients with heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia, stroke, and joint replacement. In a subcommittee hearing by the U.S Senate on FCC’s Universal Broadband Fund and Rural Healthcare (RHC) Program, Dr. Karen Rheuban, Medical Director for the Office of Telemedicine and Director for the Center for Telehealth at UVA presented a testimony that addressed the critical importance of enhancing the RHC program. Much of Rheuban’s testimony cited the many challenges telemedicine curbed within rural Virginia, such as easing the stress in overburned health facilities and reducing the barriers remote communities face in receiving proper healthcare.

read more >>

New Jersey Lawmakers on Track to OK Telemedicine Legislation

June 14, 2017 mHealth Intelligence

New Jersey lawmakers are moving forward with a sweeping set of telemedicine regulations that would open the doors to telehealth, ensure parity and put the Garden State on track to join the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact. In one of the last states to codify telemedicine, New Jersey’s Assembly Bill 1464 would enable clinicians to establish a valid physician-patient relationship via telehealth, require state health plans and private plans that cover state employees to reimburse at the same rate as in-person care, and prevent those plans from mandating an in-person visit before telehealth use. The bill also allows out-of-state healthcare providers to treat New Jersey residents via telehealth as long as they have a reciprocal medical license; New Jersey lawmakers enacted a rule in 2014 allowing doctors from other states to treat patients in New Jersey as long as the medical license they hold in their state aligns with New Jersey requirements

read more >>

Long-term exercise maintenance in COPD via telerehabilitation: a two-year pilot study.

J Telemed Telecare. 2017 Jan;23(1):74-82. doi: 10.1177/1357633X15625545. Epub 2016 Jul 9.

A Norwegian team conducted a two-year pilot study on long-term exercise maintenance in COPD via telerehabilitation. They experienced no dropout and physical performance, lung capacity, health status and quality of life were all maintained at two years. Results are encouraging and suggest that telerehabilitation can prevent deterioration and improve physical performance, health status and quality of life.

read more >>

Virtual Care Can Turn Solving the Access Challenge From Impossible to Possible Mission

July 3, 2017 Healthcare IT News

Currently, the typical patient waits 29 days to see a physician, according to a recently released survey from Merritt Hawkins. And, it could get worse. The country is expected to experience a shortage of about 90,000 physicians by the year 2025, according to the American Academy of Medical Colleges.  As a result, patients are apt to seek primary care for minor ailments such as a cold of flu through emergency departments – or to simply go without any treatment whatsoever.  Delivering care under such conditions could become virtually impossible.  “Access is a huge problem in American healthcare,” said Sylvan Waller, MD, a physician executive. Waller served as one of the catalysts during The Health Innovation Think Tank:  A Collaboration of Global Health Industry Thought Leaders, an event that was co-hosted by Lenovo Health, Justin Barnes Advisors, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center/Critical Care Medicine , Inventiv Health and HIMSS Media.

read more >>

New Jersey’s Telemedicine Regulations are Ready to Become Law

June 26, 2017 mHealth Intelligence

Telemedicine legislation headed to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s desk would, among other things, enable physicians to use telehealth to establish a doctor-patient relationship, ensure the same standards of care as an in-person visit, and ensure coverage and payment parity for private payers, state Medicaid and some other health plans. New Jersey’s State Senate approved S.291 last Thursday by a 38-0 vote, just hours after the State Assembly passed A.1464 by a vote of 73-0. The unanimous votes conclude more than a year of back-and-forth negotiations to set standards for the fast-growing technology. “The benefits to telemedicine are enormous,” State Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt (D-Camden), the leader of a six-legislator group sponsoring the Assembly bill, said in a statement. “It will make it quicker and easier to access treatment, drive up practices, lower costs and, most importantly, make sure patients get the treatment they need, when they need it, to improve their long-term health.”

read more >>

Pennsylvania Legislature Introduces Telemedicine Reimbursement Bill

June 28, 2017 mHealth Intelligence

Pennsylvania has opened the door to becoming the next state to allow full telemedicine reimbursement parity for care services. Senator Elder Vogel (R-Beaver) introduced Senate Bill 780 to define key components of telemedicine, set telemedicine licensing requirements and require that healthcare payers provide reimbursement for telemedicine services if they pay for the same service in person. Along with the Senate bill is a House companion making the rounds among state legislators. The bill would also ensure reimbursement for telehealth services under “ancillary service plans.”  These are individual or group health insurance plans, subscriber contracts or certificates that provide exclusive coverage for dental services or vision services. Healthcare services purchased through ancillary plans cannot be excluded from coverage just because they were performed via telemedicine.

read more >>

Georgia Payer Pushes Telehealth to Replace Unnecessary ER Visits