Posts Tagged ‘telemedicine’
Telehealth Stakeholders Ask Congress to Help Ensure Technology’s Future
As we first wrote about in May, telehealth in the age of COVID-19 has been gaining a lot of traction. Patients and doctors alike have found it to be a safer, and often more convenient alternative to in-person visits, especially in rural areas where healthcare delivery options are limited. Its increase in use has led…
Read MoreTelemedicine Gains Traction in the Age of COVID-19
A recent survey conducted by Merritt Hawkins, a physician recruitment firm, found that nearly half of doctors are using telemedicine to treat patients as the COVID-19 pandemic changes how they deliver healthcare. That is up from just 18 percent when a similar survey was conducted in 2018. It’s not just physicians who are turning to…
Read MoreFeds Expand Access to Telemedicine: What Does it Mean to Your Practice?
The Office of Inspector General announced today (March 17, 2020) that in response to the outbreak of COVID-19, physicians and other practitioners will not be subject to administrative sanctions for reducing or waiving any cost-sharing obligations that federal healthcare beneficiaries may owe for telemedicine services. Copayments/Deductibles Under normal circumstances, by waving or reducing cost-sharing amounts…
Read MoreGrowth of Telemedicine Sees Increase in Healthcare Fraud
Earlier this month, a New York anesthesiologist was indicted on charges stemming from her role in an alleged telemedicine conspiracy to submit fraudulent claims to federal and private insurance plans. The indictment alleges that Anna Steiner, also known as Hanna Wasielewska, along with others, ordered and prescribed durable medical equipment (DME) and prescription drugs in…
Read MoreNew Telehealth Law Takes Effect in Florida
On June 25, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law HB 23, which sets up guidelines for telehealth services in Florida. The legislation took effect July 1. Among other things, the law creates new practice standards for how telehealth can be used and by whom, registration of out-of-state telehealth providers, where telehealth services can be…
Read MoreVA Physicians to Start Practicing Across State Lines
Starting June 11, VA healthcare providers will be allowed to deliver care via telemedicine across state lines. As we wrote about last October, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs had issued a proposal that would allow for the provision of telemedicine services, regardless of where providers are licensed to practice. On May 11, the VA…
Read MoreOIG Report Finds Improper Billing for Telemedicine Services
As the push to increase the use of telemedicine grows, so too do concerns over questionable billing practices. In a recently released report, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) paid practitioners for services that did not meet Medicare…
Read MoreFlorida Telemedicine Update
Filed last September by Florida Senator Aaron Bean, Senate Bill 280, which establishes the standard of care for telehealth and defines the scope of practice for the delivery of telehealth services, is winding its way through the 2018 Legislative session. The bill has gone through the Banking and Insurance and the Health Policy committees, and…
Read MoreVA Proposal Would Expand Access to Care Via Telemedicine
Challenged by limited healthcare resources, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has issued a proposal that would allow VA healthcare providers to serve patients across state lines via telehealth, regardless of where they are licensed to practice. For fiscal year 2016, VA healthcare providers had 2.17 million telehealth episodes serving more than 700,00 veterans, 45…
Read MoreOIG Plans to Focus on Medicare Part B Payments for Telemedicine
The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, (HHS OIG) recently announced a new project designed to review Medicare Part B payments for telemedicine services. It’s part of the OIG’s Work Plan initiatives released last November and updated monthly. Among the June/July updates, the agency noted it will be looking to see…
Read More