Telehealth may be here to stay.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought about several CMS waivers that aimed to expand telehealth access and coverage. Now we’re seeing those waivers that were set to expire at the end of 2024, extended.
The House Ways and Means Committee has voted to advance the Preserving Telehealth, Hospital and Ambulance Access Act (HR 8261) which would continue pandemic-era CMS Medicare waivers for telehealth access and coverage through 2026. It would also extend the CMS Acute Hospital Care at Home waiver for an additional five years, to the end of 2029.
While there is support for having these waivers be made permanent, for now a new bill would extend the telehealth waivers for two years and the Hospital at Home waiver for five years.
A few policies in this bill include: allowing Medicare patients to continue to receive telehealth services in their home, no geographic restrictions for originating sites for telehealth services, and allowing the use of audio-only communication platforms.
Our infographic breaks it down.
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Also check out the accompanying article here.
Marie DeFreitas is the finance editor for HealthLeaders.