Policy and Regulation

Can a Package of Telehealth Bills Gain the Attention of Congress?

by Eric Wicklund

With Congress facing dozens of bills aimed at improving telehealth coverage beyond the pandemic, one Senator is pressing the issue by combining four bills into one piece of legislation. Senator John...

AMA Launches Telehealth Immersion Program to Promote Sustainability

by Eric Wicklund

The American Medical Association has launched a new program aimed at helping providers optimize and expand their telehealth programs. Meg Barron, the AMA’s vice president of digital health...

New Senate Bill Seeks To Continue COVID-19 Telehealth Coverage

by Eric Wicklund

A group of Senators has submitted yet another bill aimed at permanently extending Medicare coverage for certain telehealth services beyond the pandemic. The Protecting Rural Telehealth Access Act (S....

Texas Lawmakers OK Telehealth Expansion for Medicaid, Public Health Plans

by Eric Wicklund

Texas is set to approve legislation that would give the state’s Medicaid program and other public health plans more leeway to cover telehealth and allow audio-only telehealth services in some...

Senators Want to Codify VA’s Telehealth Success, Add More Services

by Eric Wicklund

Telehealth advocates have long used the Department of Veterans’ Affairs as an example of how telehealth is working well. A new bill before the US Senate aims to help the VA go even further with...

DOJ Files Charges Linked to Abuse of COVID-19 Telehealth Freedoms

by Eric Wicklund

(Updated on May 28 with further comments) Justice Department officials have announced the first criminal charges linked to telehealth coverage laws that have been relaxed during the coronavirus...

Congress to Debate Medicare Coverage for Audio-Only Telehealth Services

by Eric Wicklund

The debate over whether to allow Medicare coverage for audio-only telehealth services is now before Congress. US Reps. Jason Smith (R-MO) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) this week introduced the Permanency...

California Doctors’ Group Pushes Full Coverage for Audio-Only Telehealth

by Eric Wicklund

California’s largest medical association is challenging Governor Gavin Newsom’s plan to set Medicaid reimbursement for audio-only telehealth at 65 percent, saying providers should be...

GAO Tells Congress to Wait on Expanding Telehealth Coverage Past the Pandemic

by Eric Wicklund

The US government’s financial watchdog is advising lawmakers to wait a while and gather more data before deciding on whether to permanently expand telehealth coverage for Medicare and Medicaid...

Arizona’s New Telehealth Law Supports Audio-Only Platforms, License Portability

by Eric Wicklund

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey has signed legislation that greatly expands telehealth coverage in the state, including allowing audio-only telehealth services in certain circumstances and permitting...

Warner Again Presses DEA to Let Providers Prescribe via Telehealth

by Eric Wicklund

Virginia Senator Mark Warner is once again urging the federal government to fulfill a long-delayed plan to allow healthcare providers to prescribe controlled substances via telehealth. In a letter...

Veterinarians, SPCA Sue California For Freedom to Use Telehealth

by Eric Wicklund

Veterinarians are suing the state of California for the right to use telehealth. A federal lawsuit has been filed this week by several veterinarians and the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of...

The CONNECT Act is Back, Giving Telehealth Policy a 4th Shot at Passage

by Eric Wicklund

Will the fourth time be the charm for the CONNECT for Health Act? The massive telehealth bill – officially known as the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies...

Montana Governor Expands Telehealth Coverage, But Not For Abortions

by Eric Wicklund

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte has signed legislation that permanently expands coverage of and access to telehealth beyond the coronavirus pandemic. HB 43, which was approved by both chambers of the...

Senators Again Seek Telehealth Waivers for Home Healthcare Providers

by Eric Wicklund

Lawmakers are re-introducing a bill aimed at extending Medicare coverage for home health services delivered by telehealth during a public health emergency. S. 1309, introduced on April 22 by US...

HHS, FDA Backtrack From Plan to Deregulate mHealth Devices, Apps

by Eric Wicklund

Federal officials are quietly withdrawing a Trump administration plan to end regulatory review of 83 types of mHealth devices, saying the original plan was flawed and could have put the lives of...

NJ Governor Conditionally Vetoes Medical Marijuana Telehealth Bill

by Eric Wicklund

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has rejected a telehealth bill recently approved by the state’s Legislature because it doesn’t go far enough. Murphy conditionally vetoed SB 619 and A 1635,...

Biden Administration to Lift Restrictions on Telemedicine Abortions

by Eric Wicklund

The Biden Administration is supporting the use of telehealth to facilitate medication abortions during the coronavirus pandemic. Acting US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Janet Woodcock...

Michigan Lawmakers Debate the Use of Telehealth for Eye Exams

by Eric Wicklund

The battle over using telehealth to conduct eye exams has surfaced in Michigan, where lawmakers are debating a bill that would allow virtual exams for prescribing contact lenses. HB 4356, introduced...

Support Builds to Add Telehealth Options for Critical Access Hospitals

by Eric Wicklund

A new bill before Congress aims to expand telehealth access for patients living with mental health concerns at rural hospitals. The Rural Health Behavioral Access Act, sponsored by US Reps. Dan Kildee...

Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
©2012-2024 TechTarget, Inc. Xtelligent Healthcare Media is a division of TechTarget. All rights reserved. HealthITAnalytics.com is published by Xtelligent Healthcare Media a division of TechTarget.