Ramona Midkiff

Source: Health Care Law Today/Foley & Lardner LLP

By: Thomas B. Ferrante and nathaniel M. Lacktman – 02.15.22

“We’re still feeling the impacts of coronavirus, especially in older and more vulnerable populations, which is why these telehealth services must be extended.”

– U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto

On February 7, 2022, Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Todd Young (R-IN) introduced the Telemedicine Extension and Evaluation Act, an important bipartisan legislation to ensure predictable patient access to telehealth following the end of the public health emergency, allow more time to gather data around virtual care utilization and efficacy, and avoid a sudden drop-off in access to care (known as the telehealth cliff).

What is the Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act?

The Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act would establish a two-year extension for certain COVID-19 emergency telehealth waivers. The legislation aims to extend the waivers of the geographic and site restrictions and allow Medicare beneficiaries to access telehealth even when at home; allow controlled substances to be prescribed via an initial telehealth encounter under the Ryan Haight Act; and extend Medicare payment flexibilities for Rural Health Centers (RHCs), Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). To address Medicare program integrity concerns, the bill also introduces in-person restrictions on telehealth orders for certain high-cost durable medical equipment (DME) and laboratory tests. It also contains language that might serve to restrict the use of “incident to” billing for telehealth services.

“The waivers were a key part in allowing healthcare providers to meet patients where they live, and we risk reversing the great progress we have seen if we go back to the way things were prior to the pandemic.”

– René Quashie, Vice President, Policy and Regulatory Affairs, Digital Health, Consumer Technology Association

The bill follows an advocacy letter signed by 336 organizations, co-led by the American Telemedicine Association and other leading stakeholders, urging Congressional leaders to continue the current telehealth waivers and enact permanent, evidence-based telehealth legislation for implementation in 2024.

Key Takeaways for the Telehealth Industry

Here are the key takeaways on how the new legislation may affect the telehealth industry.

1. General Extension of Medicare Payment for Telehealth Services

Under the CARES Act, Congress gave CMS authority to waive certain limitations on Medicare coverage and payment for telehealth services furnished to Medicare beneficiaries, clearing the way for Medicare beneficiaries to receive care in their homes. If passed into law, the Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act would extend certain Medicare telehealth payment waivers on originating site and geographic location limitations, expand the list of permissible telehealth providers, and broaden the availably of audio-only telehealth services for Medicare beneficiaries for two years after the public health emergency ends. Read our prior coverage here and here.

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The bill proposes extending Medicare reimbursement for a range of telehealth services, including substance abuse treatment, for two years after the public health emergency has ended.

February 10, 2022 – A new piece of bipartisan legislation has been introduced in the US Senate that aims to extend access to telehealth for Medicare beneficiaries after the COVID-19 pandemic has ended.

Dubbed the Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act, the bill was introduced by US Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Todd Young (R-IN).

The legislation includes provisions that would allow the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to extend Medicare reimbursement for several telehealth services for two years after the COVID-19 public health emergency has ended. These include coverage for services provided by critical access hospitals, federally qualified health centers, rural health clinics, and reimbursement for virtual substance abuse treatment.

The bill also includes a provision to extend waivers allowing the prescription of controlled substances via telehealth.

In addition to proposing extended telehealth flexibilities, the legislation also commissions a study on the impact of those flexibilities. The study results will help Congress decide which telehealth flexibilities to make permanent following the pandemic.

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Source:  A Gray Media Group

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Upcoming events on both sides of the Savannah River will connect local residents with some of the resources they may need to overcome obstacles.

In Augusta

The city of Augusta is hosting its first community resource fair on Feb. 11 for the area’s homeless, with an emphasis on health care and finding housing.

The “Bridge the Gap” community resource fair will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 11 at the Salvation Army Center of Hope, 1384 Greene St.

Attendees will have the opportunity to take part in a variety of community services, including vaccinations, grooming and hygiene stations, and other valued resources. Food trucks will provide meals.

Hawthorne Welcher, director of Augusta’s Housing and Community Development Department, says the event’s focus is to meet residents where they are to connect them with the help they need.

In South Carolina

Community benefit days are planned in several local South Carolina communities.

At these events, you can have your taxes prepared for free and electronically submit by certified VITA counselors and SC Thrive counselors.

SC Stay will be there to assist with applications in order to assist with rent payments, mortgage payments or utility assistance.

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Americans now have telehealth as an option and they like it! Buzz60’s Keri Lumm shares the results of a new study conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Kaiser Permanente.

Source: SCNOW

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Source: American Telemedicine Association

CONTACT:
Gina Cella
Cella Communications
781-799-3137
[email protected]

WASHINGTON, DC, JANUARY 21, 2022 – The American Telemedicine Association (ATA), the premier organization working to accelerate the adoption of telehealth, today launched ATA Action, its new affiliated trade organization focused on ensuring individuals have permanent access to telehealth services across the care continuum. ATA Action will work to support the enactment of state and federal telehealth coverage and appropriate payment policies to secure telehealth access for all Americans, including those in rural and underserved communities. The ATA also announced today that Kyle Zebley, vice president, public policy, will also serve as the executive director of ATA Action.

The American Telemedicine Association (ATA), the premier organization working to accelerate the adoption of telehealth, today launched ATA Action, its new affiliated trade organization focused on ensuring individuals have permanent access to telehealth services across the care continuum. ATA Action will work to support the enactment of state and federal telehealth coverage and appropriate payment policies to secure telehealth access for all Americans, including those in rural and underserved communities. The ATA also announced today that Kyle Zebley, vice president, public policy, will also serve as the executive director of ATA Action.

“Now is the time for policymakers to act on telehealth. The ATA is pulling out all the stops to ensure that the policy gains we’ve made over the past two years do not go away, reverting us back to an out-of-date care delivery system that leaves millions of vulnerable patients out in the cold,” said Ann Mond Johnson, CEO of the ATA. “As we make further gains this year, we also understand that new challenges will arise that will require our continued public policy efforts. ATA Action builds on the significant momentum and widespread support for telehealth, leveraging an even stronger voice and more significant presence in Washington and in state capitals across the country.”

ATA Action follows the ATA’s well-established, carefully defined Policy Principles that support the appropriate use of technology to reimagine care to ensure all people receive care where and when they need it. In the short term, ATA Action is working to make certain that the temporary flexibilities that were put in place during the COVID-19 public health emergency extend at least through 2023, while simultaneously working to make policies permanent.

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Source:  Broadband Breakfast
By: Justin Perkins

Source: mHealthIntelligence

Primary care, medical specialty, and surgical specialty providers saw an uptick in telehealth utilization when the pandemic hit in 2020, but virtual care use dwindled in the second half of the year, a survey found.

January 19, 2022 – Telehealth utilization peaked in the first half of 2020 and decreased as the year came to a close, with providers predicting that virtual care use would continue to decline in upcoming years, according to the 2021 Medical Group Telehealth Survey.

AMGA Consulting conducted the survey and gathered responses from 56 medical groups representing more than 38,000 healthcare providers.

The majority of the participants (86 percent) were part of multispecialty groups with primary care, while the remaining were either multispecialty without primary care, primary care, or single-specialty groups.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, health systems and clinics restricted in-person care, which unsurprisingly led to the increased adoption of virtual care services.

Telehealth utilization among medical groups saw the most significant increase between the first and second quarter of 2020, the survey found. Primary care specialty groups had the biggest incline, with telehealth accounting for 1.9 percent of all visits in Q1 and 33.3 percent of all visits in Q2.

Medical and surgical specialty groups also hit their telehealth use peak in Q2, with a respective 26.7 percent and 12.6 percent of all visits being conducted virtually.

“The explosive growth of telehealth in 2020 was not surprising. It was an extraordinary reaction to an extraordinary situation,” Fred Horton, president of AMGA Consulting, said in a press release. “As we study the long-term effects this uptick in utilization had on quality, I believe we’ll find that telehealth adds a new dimension to healthcare delivery.”

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Each year the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) celebrates individuals who are serving the vital health needs an estimated 57 million people living in rural America. On National Rural Health Day, November 18, 2021, Community Stars from all 50 states were recognized. Congratulations to South Carolina’s 2021 Community Star, Palmetto Care Connections CEO Kathy Schwarting! Read her story on page 47 of the NOSORH Community Star publication. https://en.calameo.com/read/0045723395dc12ef8ac48

By Molly Hulsey

About 4,500 Cherokee County homes and small businesses lacked access to internet service last year, but change is in the air — or rather, the ground.

The county and Charter Communications have launched a two-year public-private partnership in which the Upstate county will model Charter’s plans for its $5 billion broadband expansion to an estimated 1 million homes and businesses across the country.

The project will draw on the Federal Communication Commission’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund.

“Broadband is a vital resource for work, learning and personal connection,” Jessica Geremia, Spectrum’s area vice president of field operations, said in a news release. “Leveraging RDOF resources, we’re building a high-speed, high-capacity network that will bring gigabit internet to thousands of homes and small businesses in Cherokee County — an investment that will ensure families and businesses can participate fully in the digital world, now and well into the future.”

The Cherokee project, funded with more than $3 million, began Jan. 1 and is expected to connect 3,000 homes and small businesses to high-speed internet.

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Written by:  Kathy Rhoad, PCC Director of Public Relations & Program Development

BAMBERG, SC— Palmetto Care Connections (PCC) has been awarded $782,575 through the Federal Communications Commission’s COVID-19 Telehealth Program as part of its second round of funding.

PCC serves as a leading partner and administrator for the South Carolina Rural Telehealth Initiative, a consortium of diverse health care providers that will deploy a telehealth platform and remote patient monitoring devices to enhance: 1) remote care of patients with COVID-19, 2) remote care for select chronic disease patients with high risk of mortality from acquiring COVID-19, and 3) telehealth capabilities for COVID-19 and other admitted patients to critical access hospitals.

The health care providers in the consortium operate primarily in rural, underserved communities located in the Upstate, Midlands, Pee Dee and Low Country regions of the state. Health care organizations in the SC Rural Telehealth Initiative include Williamsburg Regional Hospital, Allendale County Hospital, Lowry’s Primary Care in Chester, Clemson Health Clinic – Walhalla, Little River Medical Center, Clyburn Center for Primary Care of Rural Health Services, Inc. and the Alpha Behavioral Health Center in Chesterfield County.

The funds will cover the costs of remote monitoring devices such as connected blood pressure monitors, glucose monitors, and pulse oximeters so high-risk patients can continue receiving quality care remotely with lower risk of COVID-19 transmission. In addition, the funds will reimburse the cost of the development of a telehealth platform.

The SC Rural Telehealth Initiative will be co-led by PCC Chief Executive Officer Kathy Schwarting, MHA and Clemson Rural Health Director Ron Gimbel, Ph.D. “Patients with certain chronic disease and other conditions are at heightened risk of acquiring SARS-CoV-2. Innovation in remote patient monitoring and telehealth connectivity (in the home) helps to protect vulnerable patients while promoting self-management of their chronic condition. Remote patient monitoring includes enabled medical devices that capture biomedical readings and visualize trends to help guide patients. The devices, such as weight scales, blood pressure monitors, glucose monitors, pulse oximeters, peak flow meters, and others will be integrated within a dedicated telehealth platform to provide trended data for comparison by patients, clinical staff and providers. Safety thresholds and aligned messaging to patients will help the high-risk patients isolate at home, receive care remotely, and guide them when readings are troublesome,” said Gimbel. “Within our critical access hospital partners, the devices will be used within the hospital facilities to ensure high quality care despite of nursing shortages and other challenges.”

“The SC Rural Telehealth Initiative is committed to improving access to care and health outcomes for SC residents. In addition to patients with COVID-19, our health providers will be treating high risk patients who have Type-2 diabetes, hypertension, congestive heart failure, obesity, and substance use disorders. Many of the patients are underrepresented minorities and older adults including veterans,” said Schwarting.

According to a news release, the FCC’s COVID-19 Telehealth Program supports the efforts of health care providers to continue serving their patients by providing reimbursement for telecommunications services, information services, and connected devices necessary to enable telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Round 2 is a $249.95 million federal initiative that builds on the $200 million program established as part of the CARES Act.

“As the impact of new variants continue to challenge our healthcare system, the FCC has worked diligently to review and approve funding commitments as part of our COVID-19 Telehealth Program,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in the news release. “As we head into 2022, the ability to treat patients and loved ones from the safety of their home is of vital importance.”

Established in 2010, PCC is a non-profit organization that provides technology, broadband, and telehealth support services to health care providers in rural and underserved areas in S.C.  PCC co-chairs the South Carolina Telehealth Alliance, along with the Medical University of South Carolina, serving as an advocate for rural providers and partnering with organizations to improve health care access and delivery for all South Carolinians. The National Cooperative of Health Networks Association named Palmetto Care Connections as the 2021 Outstanding Health Network of the Year. PCC Chief Executive Officer Kathy Schwarting received South Carolina’s 2021 Community Star award presented by the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health.