Telehealth's future after the end of the public health emergency | Where to now?
When the current public health emergency ends, so do many of the waivers put in place to help providers through the pandemic. Telehealth is the big exception, getting an additional 151 days before a loss of flexibilities such as the ability for patients to get virtual care from their home.
Congressional action is needed, and lawmakers are expected to act before the telehealth cliff. Members may need all of that time to sort through what will be allowed, according to Jacob Harper, partner at Morgan Lewis.
The Connect for Health Act, which would expand the use of telehealth and remote patient monitoring services in Medicare, has 68 Senate sponsors, but hasn't come up for a vote yet.
There are also questions on cost. The Congressional Budget Office scoring of proposed telehealth bills awaits more data on the savings provided by telehealth, such as whether it reduces trips to the hospital.
Now we have a boatload of data
The number crunchers are getting numbers together," he said. The other issue with telehealth is one of integrity: whether it increases fraud and waste in the healthcare system.
6 Types of Healthcare Fraud
Billing for services that were never given. ...
Billing for the wrong services. ...
Converting a non-covered service into a covered service. ...
Not collecting copayments or deductibles. ...
Overtreatment. ...
Bribery and kickbacks.
It will be unfortunate if CMS reverses the trend toward accessibility for patients. SDOH (social determinants of health) are positively affected by patients who ordinarily cannot access healthcare. Telehealth will act as the gatekeeper in the future. The benefits will far outweigh the risk of fraud if properly managed.
Telehealth's future after the end of the public health emergency | Healthcare Finance News