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Nov 16
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SPECTRUM ANNOUNCES $35,000 SPECTRUM DIGITAL EDUCATION GRANT FOR PALMETTO CARE CONNECTIONS

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Many thanks to Spectrum who recently awarded PCC a $35,000 Spectrum Digital Education grant to provide digital literacy training to seniors in rural communities, including Bamberg County.

Source: Spectrum

COLUMBIA, S.C. (Oct. 25, 2021) – Spectrum today announced Palmetto Care Connections has received a $35,000 Spectrum Digital Education grant for Project Connect as part of its five-year, $7 million commitment to digital education in Spectrum communities across the country.

Palmetto Care Connections will use the funding to provide digital literacy classes for senior citizens in rural South Carolinas communities. This project will primarily focus on telehealth training for seniors and participants will receive a digital device upon completion of the program.

“We applaud Palmetto Care Connections for their broadband education initiatives and for helping us support efforts that promote digital literacy in rural South Carolina counties,” said Rahman Khan, Vice President of Community Impact for Charter Communications, Inc., which operates the Spectrum brand of broadband connectivity products. “Through this partnership with Palmetto Care Connections, the Spectrum Digital Education program is able to bring essential resources to those in need, and we look forward to working with them on this transformative project.”

A check presentation to announce the grant will be held Wedensday, Oct. 27 at 1:30 p.m. at Palmetto Care Connections main office at 1880 Main Highway, Bamberg.

“Palmetto Care Connections is honored to receive this Spectrum Digital Education Grant to help close the digital divide for senior citizens, especially during times like these, as we work to reduce social isolation and when the need for virtual access to health care providers is so great,” said Kathy Schwarting, Palmetto Care Connections Chief Executive Officer. “With Spectrum’s assistance, PCC will provide hands-on training for about 100 seniors including how to send and receive photos and emails, safely search the internet for health information, connect with family and friends using a virtual face to face app, play mind-expanding games and connect with their doctor for virtual telehealth appointments. Each senior will receive a free digital device and assistance with acquiring internet service upon completion of the training.”

Palmetto Care Connections is one of 49 nonprofit organizations that Spectrum is supporting through 2021 Spectrum Digital Education grants. Since launching Spectrum Digital Education in 2017, Spectrum has donated $7 million in cash and in-kind contributions for digital literacy programs reaching nearly 70,000 people in 20 states and Washington, D.C. More information about Spectrum Digital Education is available here.

Charter sponsors several philanthropic programs in addition to Spectrum Digital Education, including Spectrum Scholars, a scholarship for under-represented college juniors in financial need; Spectrum Employee Community Grants, which supports Charter employees’ local volunteer activities; and the Spectrum Community Investment Loan Fund, which supports small and minority-owned businesses whose goods and services help meet core needs in financially underserved communities within the company’s footprint. More information about Charter’s philanthropic initiatives is available here.

About Spectrum

Spectrum is a suite of advanced communications services offered by Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR), a leading broadband connectivity company and cable operator serving more than 31 million customers in 41 states. Over an advanced communications network, the company offers a full range of state-of-the-art residential and business services including Spectrum Internet®, TV, Mobile and Voice.

For small and medium-sized companies, Spectrum Business® delivers the same suite of broadband products and services coupled with special features and applications to enhance productivity, while for larger businesses and government entities, Spectrum Enterprise provides highly customized, fiber-based solutions. Spectrum Reach® delivers tailored advertising and production for the modern media landscape. The company also distributes award-winning news coverage, sports and high-quality original programming to its customers through Spectrum Networks and Spectrum Originals. More information about Charter can be found at corporate.charter.com.

Nov 16
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Williamsburg County Seniors Complete Digital Literacy Training

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Senior citizens from Williamsburg County recently completed digital literacy training in Kingstree provided by Palmetto Care Connections. Pictured with Kenneth Barnes (far right), Pee Dee Area Director for Congressman James E. Clyburn.

BAMBERG, SC—Senior citizens aged 60 years and up from Williamsburg County recently completed a three-session digital literacy learning program conducted by Palmetto Care Connections (PCC), a state-wide, non-profit telehealth organization.

The program was part of a pilot program funded by the Rural Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and the S.C. Department on Aging to help 100 seniors who live in rural communities with digital literacy training, a free digital tablet and free cellular service for 12 months.

Senior citizens completed hands-on training using a digital tablet and learned skills such as how to send and receive photos and emails, connect with family and friends using video, search the internet for health information, play mind-stimulating games and connect with their doctor for virtual telehealth appointments. PCC will provide ongoing technical support for the seniors who complete the program.

“COVID-19 has created an explosion in telehealth services and uncovered a tremendous need for internet access and digital literacy in rural areas,” said PCC Chief Executive Officer Kathy Schwarting. “As PCC surveyed rural health care providers, we confirmed that many of the seniors they serve have difficulty using and understanding technology, and many do not have internet access at home. The goal is to connect seniors not only to telehealth, but also to a variety of quality of life resources, to combat the social isolation that many seniors have faced during the pandemic.”

“For more than 40 years, Rural LISC has proudly worked to connect communities with resources and access to opportunities that everyone deserves,” said Rural LISC Program Officer Christa Vinson. “PCC’s Digital Inclusion pilot program supports the mission of Rural LISC by providing the physical equipment and technical assistance that this segment of the population needs in order to access services and benefit from an increasingly technical society.”

“The South Carolina Department on Aging works with a network of regional and local organizations to develop and manage services that help seniors remain independent in their homes and in their communities. SCDOA is pleased to be a part of the PCC Digital Inclusion pilot program focusing on seniors in rural areas in five South Carlina counties,” said Kay Hightower, SCDOA Senior Consultant, Outreach and Partnership Building.

“It is our hope that this pilot program will be a model for one approach to closing the digital divide in South Carolina,” said Kathy Schwarting, CEO of Palmetto Care Connections (PCC). “While PCC’s focus has traditionally been on serving rural health care providers with telehealth, broadband and technology resources, we have learned that patients need help in connecting to their health care providers. Residents of rural areas not only need internet access, they need access that is affordable and they need a device and knowledge to connect to resources for a better quality of life.”

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 Network Association named Palmetto Care Connections as the 2021 Outstanding Health Network of the Year.

Nov 15
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Clyburn details benefits of infrastructure deal for SC residents

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Source: The State

By Congressman James E. Clyburn

I often reflect upon my experiences growing up in a parsonage and my public service is guided by many of them. Recent circumstances have drawn me to Hebrews 11:1, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.” After less than a year with President Biden in office and Democrats technically in control of Congress, I am beginning to see the substance of many things I had hoped for when Joe Biden was elected, and the evidence is beginning to be seen by everyone.

In March, Democrats in Washington delivered – without one Republican vote – the American Rescue Plan. This comprehensive package began alleviating the economic pain caused by COVID-19 by expanding the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit and lowering health insurance premiums for many in the Affordable Care Act marketplace. It provided resources to state and local communities for schools and health care facilities.

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Nov 15
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Bringing Broadband and Telehealth to Rural South Carolina- Episode 8

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Source: doxy.me

In the eighth episode of Telehealth Heroes, we interview Kathy Schwarting, the CEO of Palmetto Care Connections. She talks about improving technological literacy, her upcoming telehealth summit, and PCC’s goal to bring Google Fiber and improved broadband to rural communities in South Carolina.

https://doxy.me/en/resources/podcasts/ep-8-bringing-broadband-and-telehealth-to-rural-south-carolina/
Nov 10
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SC to receive more than $6B from infrastructure bill

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Source:  WISTV 10

By Mary Green

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – More than $6 billion will head to South Carolina over a five-year period as part of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by the House late last week, according to the White House.

The bill is just awaiting President Joe Biden’s signature to become law and for funding to start being dispersed across the country.

The White House said Biden may not sign the bill until next week, when members of Congress will return to Washington following a weeklong recess.

“It’s urgent, but we also want to make sure that the people who spent the last couple of weeks, last couple of months just all in, delivering on this, on this promise, are here for the signing as well,” White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a briefing Monday.

According to the White House, South Carolina has more than 1,700 bridges in poor condition and nearly 7,300 highway miles in a similar state.

The state Department of Transportation said it will likely use this money not toward new projects, but toward projects it identified in 2013 as part of a larger study of South Carolina’s transportation system through 2040.

“Having a lot of money at one time without a plan is not a great plan, so having the vision that we did to lay out that plan and now being able to execute it is really what it’s all about for us, and again, like I said, it’s not changing our priorities. It’s just looking at possibly accelerating,” SCDOT Secretary Christy Hall said.

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Nov 02
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Charleston-based telehealth group expanding access with new partnership

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MUSC says it saw increases in kids admitted for COVID-19 in August and September | Credit: MUSC Facebook

Source:  Charleston City Paper

by Skyler Baldwin

 

The South Carolina Telehealth Alliance (SCTA), headquartered at the MUSC Health Center for Telehealth, one of only two National Telehealth Centers of Excellence in the country, today announced the launch of an initiative to expand access to specialist care to underserved areas.

The new initiative, South Carolina eConsult, will use SCTA partner ReferWell’s digital platform to allow S.C. health providers and local practices to consult with experts in various specialties to better outline a patient’s care, regardless of the patient’s typical access.

“This South Carolina eConsult initiative represents a huge opportunity for patients in rural and underserved areas of South Carolina to receive care guidance from top specialists whom they would otherwise not be able to see in person, and to access specialist-informed care without the need to travel far or incur extra bills,” said Dr. James McElligott, SCTA advisory council co-chair.

Virtual consults will be available in neurology, endocrinology, rheumatology, hematology and clinical genetics in the initial phase of the program. Future plans include adding other specialties and partnering with health systems across the state.

SCTA is making the ReferWell platform available to South Carolina providers free of charge. This move, SCTA said in a press release, will improve outcomes, optimize the patient experience, increase efficiency and reduce total cost of care.

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Oct 29
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ATA to assess telemedicine’s role in addressing U.S. healthcare disparities

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Photo: Thomas Barwick/Getty Images

Source: Healthcare IT News

By Kat Jercich

An advisory group convened by the organization released a framework of nine elements that can be used to work toward equity.

The American Telemedicine Association announced this week that it was launching a new initiative aimed at evaluating telehealth’s potential as a tool to address and eliminate health disparities in the United States.

The CEO’s Advisory Group on Using Telehealth to Eliminate Disparities and Inequities, comprising more than 30 executives from a range of payer, provider and tech organizations, issued a framework alongside the announcement that will serve as the foundation of ongoing strategic analysis and future policy recommendations.

“In recent years, we have seen rapidly growing evidence that telehealth services can and should play a central role in strategies to address health disparities in the U.S.,” said Ann Mond Johnson, CEO of the ATA, in a statement. “Our new ATA CEO’s Advisory Group brings together globally recognized leaders in health policy and service delivery who are uniquely positioned to outline the optimal strategies to use telehealth to address this very significant challenge.”

WHY IT MATTERS

The advisory group is chaired by Kristi Henderson, CEO for MedExpress at Optum; Yasmine Winkler, independent director at GEHA Health; and Dr. Ron Wyatt, VP & safety officer at MCIC Vermont.

Its members include representatives from Kaiser Permanente, Intermountain Healthcare, Fenway Health, UnitedHealth, Facebook, Microsoft Health and Salesforce, along with other stakeholders.

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Oct 26
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CCHP’s Fall 50 State Telehealth Policy Summary Report is Here!

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Source: Center for Connected Health Policy – The National Telehealth Policy Resource Center

…Telehealth Policy Shifts Again!!

Today the Center for Connected Health Policy (CCHP) is releasing its bi-annual summary of state telehealth policy changes for Fall 2021. Additionally, we are also making available a summary chart showing where states stand on many key telehealth policies, as well as an infographic highlighting our key findings. Historically, CCHP has released twice a year (Spring and Fall) updates to its “State Telehealth Laws and Reimbursement Policies” report in the form of a PDF report document that details all the telehealth policies for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Over the years this has evolved to include an update to CCHP’s online database of the same information. In Spring 2021, the policy database transitioned exclusively to a new and improved online Policy Finder tool. This online database tool allows CCHP to easily update each state’s information on a more frequent basis instead of updating only in the Spring and Fall. Additionally, while there will no longer be a single PDF report with every state, the information from the online database can now be exported for each state into a PDF document using the most current information available on CCHP’s website. The information for this summary report covers updates in state telehealth policy made between June and September 2021.

Please note that many states continue to keep their temporary telehealth COVID-19 emergency policies siloed from their permanent telehealth policies. These temporary policies are not included in this executive summary, although they are listed under each state in the online Policy Finder under the COVID-19 category. In instances where the state has made policies permanent, or extended policies for multiple years, CCHP has incorporated those policies into the summary.

Highlighted Findings

The main areas where changes were made since our Spring 2021 update fall in the three buckets that CCHP uses to categorize information within its policy finder: (1) Medicaid policy, (2) private payer policy, and (3) regulation of health professionals. Changes were also highly influenced by temporary expansions made during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some states took approaches to extend their pandemic policies multiple years into the future, while others made policies (or portions of their COVID policies) permanent. Still others have not adopted their more lenient COVID policies at all.

In Medicaid, it was common for states to make slight adjustments to their telehealth policies to add or clarify the services that can be delivered via telehealth, types of professionals that can deliver care through telehealth or the types of settings a patient can be in during a telehealth interaction. For example, Mississippi clarified that Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC), Rural Health Clinics (RHC) and community mental health centers can be originating and distant sites, and Arkansas now specifies that both the home is an eligible patient site and that group meetings may be performed via telemedicine. Although reimbursement for audio-only telephone has become pretty standard during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), less than half of state Medicaid programs explicitly are reimbursing for the modality permanently, though that number has increased since Spring 2021. Many state Medicaid programs that have added audio-only coverage have placed restrictive parameters around its reimbursement.

Many states also made modifications to their telehealth private payer reimbursement law language to alter the definition of telehealth/telemedicine. This typically included an expansion of the definition to be broader in scope so that it entails more than just live video, although often with some caveats. For example, Arkansas’ private payer law now stipulates that telemedicine does not include audio-only communication, unless the audio-only communication is real-time, interactive, and substantially meets the requirements for a healthcare service that would otherwise be covered by the health benefit plan. Requirements around payment parity were also a common change, with eight states passing a law requiring the same reimbursement amount whether a service is provided via telehealth or in-person since Spring 2021. Illinois, for example, now requires reimbursement parity for in-network or tiered network health care professionals or facilities, including services provided via audio-only.

Finally, there is a noticeable shift in telehealth policy towards tightening of professional requirements around the use of telehealth by providers. For example, Michigan passed new consent requirements for social work, athletic trainers, massage therapists, acupuncturists and veterinary medicine, and West Virginia adopted emergency telehealth practice standard regulations for five professions, including dentistry, nursing, osteopathic medicine, social work and medicine. While many states have had these types of standards for several years, the rate at which new telehealth standards are being adopted has increased significantly within the last six months. States that offer special licenses or certificates or have exceptions to licensing requirements related to telehealth has also slightly increased since Spring 2021. For example, Florida and Arizona are two states that have recently relaxed their licensing requirements, requiring out-of-state telehealth providers to only register with their applicable professional board within the state. Additionally, at least ten states entered into licensing compacts since Spring 2021.

KEY FINDINGS FOR FALL 2021 INCLUDE:

• Fifty states and Washington, DC provide reimbursement for some form of live video in Medicaid fee-for-
service.
• Twenty-two states provide reimbursement for store-and-forward.
• Twenty-nine state Medicaid programs provide reimbursement for remote patient monitoring (RPM).
• Twenty-two states allow for telephone reimbursement, although in most cases it is extremely limited.
• Fourteen states limit the type of facility that can serve as an originating site.
• Thirty-five state Medicaid programs offer a transmission or facility fee when telehealth is used.
• Forty-three states and DC currently have a law that governs private payer telehealth reimbursement
policy.

Complete information by state can be viewed on CCHP’s Policy Finder Look Up page. In addition, CCHP will continue to make available bi-annually an infographic, state summary chart and an analysis report summarizing changes. The report is available on the web, and in PDF form.

Oct 26
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Biden Administration Emphasizes Telehealth in its Infrastructure Strategy

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Source: mHealthIntelligence

By Eric Wicklund

 

While Congress is whittling down the Biden Administration’s massive Build Back Better plan, new announcements out of the USDA and FCC aim to support broadband expansion for telehealth – and to emphasize how important that is to the nation’s infrastructure

– The federal government is making a concerted effort to link broadband connectivity and telehealth to the nation’s infrastructure.

The Us Department of Agriculture last week unveiled more than $1.15 billion in federal loans and grants for broadband expansion in rural regions, alongside $50 million in funding for 105 distance learning and telemedicine projects in 37 states and Puerto Rico. This announcement came on the same day that the Federal Communications Commission unveiled $40.5 million for 71 more projects in the COVID-19 Telehealth Program, and at the same time that the FCC is getting ready to announce more award winners in its Connected Care Pilot Program.

All of these efforts come as the Biden Administration is putting pressure on Congress to support its Build Back Better plan for infrastructure improvements.

In the USDA announcement, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack emphasized the federal action as a means of addressing barriers to care and other services in rural America.

“For too long, the ‘digital divide’ has left too many people living in rural communities behind: unable to compete in the global economy and unable to access the services and resources that all Americans need,” he said in a press release. “As we build back better than we were before, the actions I am announcing today will go a long way toward ensuring that people who live or work in rural areas are able to tap into the benefits of broadband, including access to specialized healthcare, educational opportunities and the global marketplace. Rural people, businesses and communities must have affordable, reliable, high-speed internet so they can fully participate in modern society and the modern economy.”

Telehealth advocates have long argued that broadband connectivity is a significant challenge to connected health adoption, and that healthcare organizations won’t expand their platforms if they can’t guarantee a reliable connection with patients. Likewise, access to telemedicine technology and an understanding of how to use it are considered social determinants of health, non-clinical factors that influence health outcomes.

The USDA’s DLT grants have long been used to address rural connectivity for both healthcare and education, and the award winners are often an even mixture of healthcare providers and schools. Vilsack’s announcement last week highlighted the healthcare side, noting that Illinois-based OSF HealthCare is getting $387,000 to establish a telehealth network to serve more than 100,000 rural patients and United Health Services of Texas is getting almost $200,000 to improve its telemental health platform for 8,000 residents of Oklahoma’s Choctaw and Chickasaw Nations.

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Oct 25
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New Bill Targets Telehealth Provisions in High-Deductible Health Plans

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Source: mHealthIntelligence

By Eric Wicklund

A bill introduced in the House earlier this month would extend provisions for telehealth coverage in high-deductible health plans that were enacted in the CARES Act of 2020, but are due to expire at the end of this year.

– A new bill before Congress aims to improve telehealth coverage, particularly for primary care services, in high-deductible health insurance plans.

The Primary and Virtual Care Affordability Act (HR 5541), introduced earlier this month by US Reps. Brad Schneider (D-IL) and Brad Wenstrup (R-OH), would extend through 2023 a provision in the CARES Act that established first-dollar coverage for telehealth services in HSA-eligible HDHPs. It would also give HDHPs the leeway to waive the deductible for primary care services.

“Financial burdens should not prevent Americans from seeing their primary care doctor to discuss critical health care needs,” Schneider said in a press release. “The upfront costs of high-deductible health plans discourage too many Americans from getting the preventative care they need, leaving issues untreated and ultimately resulting in higher costs and poorer outcomes down the line.”

Estimates place the number of Americans with HDHPs at more than 35 million – or roughly 30 percent of all covered workers. The plans offer attractive low monthly premiums, but set high deductibles that the plan holder must pay out of pocket before the insurance kicks in.

Telehealth advocates point out that those high deductibles can be barrier to accessing care, particularly for those with limited incomes. The Alliance for Connected Care, which supports the bill, points out that more than half of those with an HSA live in areas where the median income is below $75,000, making it difficult to reach the $1,400 individual and $2,800 family thresholds that trigger coverage.

Recognizing that concern, Congress included a provision in the CARES Act, passed in 2020, that enabled employers to create a safe harbor from certain HDHPs during the pandemic, enabling them to offer free or reduced-cost access to telehealth services. But that provision will end at the end of this year.

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