Coronavirus is continuing, unfortunately, and will be for some time. The US Congress has responded with a funding bill that has important implications for telehealth providers.
On March 5th, the US House of Representatives passed H.R. 6074, the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act. It’s an $8.3 billion dollar package with one particular clause that should catch your attention as potential telehealth providers.
Title V of the Bill includes an Emergency Telehealth Waiver for “Telehealth Services During Certain Emergency Periods.” The summary of this portion of the bill provided by Congress is:
“Emergency Telehealth Waiver: Allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to waive certain Medicare telehealth restrictions during the coronavirus public health emergency. These waivers would allow Medicare providers to furnish telehealth services to Medicare beneficiaries regardless of whether the beneficiary is in a rural community. This provision would also allow beneficiaries to receive care from physicians and other practitioners in their homes. This provision is estimated to cost $500 million.”
H.R. 6074, the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, US House of Representatives
In our telehealth work at SimplyDoc and at our parent company WebRTC.ventures, one of the most important issues we hear about is reimbursements. Some providers are hesitant to incorporate telemedicine into their practices out of an understandable concern regarding Medicare and insurance reimbursements.
This emergency waiver due to COVID-19 is a step in the right direction. The coronavirus public health crisis makes it more important than ever for medical appointments that can be conducted remotely are done using telehealth so that patients and doctors can minimize their risk of exposure.
Our team at SimplyDoc is here to help and happy to talk with you today about implementing telehealth in your medical or mental health practice. Our solutions can be configured to your unique workflow, so that you can still practice medicine the way you want even when the patient is not in the office with you. We’re also working on releasing a plan for individual practitioners in the near future, so that medical practices of all sizes can benefit from telehealth during this crisis. Contact our team for more information today!
