Policy and Regulation

What the House subcommittee hearing tells us about telehealth’s future

April 12, 2024 - Jeanette Ashlock was only 30, fresh off her honeymoon, when she first started experiencing multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms. “My muscles and body started locking up,” the National Multiple Sclerosis Society patient advocate told lawmakers. “I was losing my ability to control my movement and losing function.” During a health subcommittee hearing on April 10,...

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44% of mental health patients had in-person visits before telehealth

by Anuja Vaidya

Between 2019 and 2022, less than half of patients had an in-person visit before a telehealth appointment for mental healthcare, new research reveals. The US Congress has permanently allowed Medicare...

Stakeholders push DEA to solidify virtual prescribing flexibilities

by Anuja Vaidya

More than 200 virtual care stakeholders, including trade associations, healthcare providers, and telehealth companies, have signed a letter urging the United States Drug Enforcement Administration...

Bipartisan lawmakers present bill to solidify telehealth flexibilities

by Anuja Vaidya

United States representatives from both sides of the aisle introduced new legislation to permanently extend several telehealth flexibilities for Medicare beneficiaries. Called the Telehealth...

Healthcare stakeholders call for hospital-at-home waiver permanency

by Anuja Vaidya

More than 65 healthcare organizations have signed a letter urging Congress to extend the Acute Hospital Care at Home waiver program for at least five years beyond 2024. The letter sent to...

Expanded Virtual OUD Medication Access Likely to be Cost-Effective

by Anuja Vaidya

Regulatory flexibilities enabling virtual initiation and at-home doses of medications for opioid use disorder (OUD) are likely cost-effective, according to new research. Published in the journal Drug...

Stakeholders Urge Congress to Take Early Action on Telehealth Access

by Anuja Vaidya

More than 200 virtual care stakeholders have signed a letter to Congress urging action on telehealth regulations early in the year, asking for more time to implement new policies before pandemic-era...

What the NJ Lawsuit Adds to Out-of-State Telehealth, Licensure Debates

by Anuja Vaidya

With the rapid expansion of virtual care in recent years came regulatory flexibilities to enable healthcare delivery across state lines. But many of these flexibilities have expired, resulting in a tussle between providers and patients...

Lawmakers Call on HHS to Collaborate on Telehealth Access Policies

by Anuja Vaidya

A group of lawmakers from the United States House of Representatives and Senate have sent a letter urging the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to work with Congress to maintain expanded...

State Changes to Telehealth Policy Appear to be Stagnating

by Anuja Vaidya

State action on telehealth policy and regulation stalled in 2023, apart from a few states that made significant changes, according to a new report. Released by the Cicero Institute, the third annual...

Senators Reintroduce Bill to Ease Telemental Healthcare Access

by Anuja Vaidya

A group of bipartisan senators have reintroduced a bill to expand access to virtual mental healthcare services for Medicare beneficiaries. The Telemental Health Care Access Act aims to remove the...

Patient Care, Policy & More: A Look at This Year’s Virtual Care Trends

by Anuja Vaidya

In many ways, 2023 was a year of reckoning for virtual care. From sky-high funding and clinical promises verging on hyperbole to bankruptcy filings and an ongoing patient preference for in-person care, virtual care stakeholders had to...

New Bill to Expand Home-Based Virtual Mental, Substance Use Care

by Anuja Vaidya

Two United States representatives have introduced a new bill that aims to expand access to at-home virtual mental health and substance use services in rural communities. Introduced by Andrea Salinas...

Visit Volumes Decline When Out-of-State Telehealth Waivers Expire

by Anuja Vaidya

Following the expiration of waivers enabling out-of-state telehealth visits, patients tended to stop seeing the physician rather than switch to in-person care, according to a study published in JAMA...

Stakeholders Urge Senators to Avert ‘Fast and Slow’ Death of Telehealth

by Anuja Vaidya

Earlier this week, a United States Senate subcommittee heard testimonials from a group of healthcare leaders on the importance of making permanent regulatory flexibilities supporting expanded...

New PFS Rule Includes Telehealth Payment, Address Reporting Wins

by Anuja Vaidya

Though the newly released 2024 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) final rule did not bring good news for all in the healthcare industry, telehealth proponents garnered some critical wins. Effective on or...

Half of US States Reimburse for 4 Common Forms of Virtual Care

by Anuja Vaidya

Though all 50 states and Washington, D.C., provide reimbursement for some form of live video-based telehealth within their Medicaid programs, only 25 provide Medicaid reimbursement for live video as...

Telehealth Stakeholders Ask CMS to Eliminate Address Reporting Burden

by Anuja Vaidya

Numerous industry groups and healthcare stakeholders are requesting the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to continue allowing healthcare providers to conduct telehealth services from...

DEA Extends Virtual Prescribing Flexibilities Through 2024

by Anuja Vaidya

In the face of unflagging resistance from the healthcare industry, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said they will lift proposed...

ATA Submits Recommendations for Telehealth Prescription Flexibility

by Anuja Vaidya

ATA Action, the advocacy arm of the American Telemedicine Association (ATA), has submitted recommendations to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on creating a special registration...

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