Healthcare Technology Featured Article

March 13, 2014

Telemedicine Association on a Quest for Medicare Reform


Last week, the American Telemedicine Association (ATA), sent a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, requesting changes to Medicaid codes that unnecessarily limit the access to telehealth providers. According to Jonathan Linkous, chief executive officer of ATA, “The current language creates artificial barriers to care including patient location restrictions, communications technology restrictions, and it also defines a narrow list of eligible providers and covered services.”

ATA also made two recommendations to HHS and CMS, to encourage provider participation in these programs and improve outcomes:  

“HHS and CMS should waive the Medicare restrictions on telehealth in section 1834(m) for ACOs and Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) payment models for bundled acute care and medical homes. 

The agencies should also waive section 1895(e)(1) for these alternative payment methods to allow home telehealth and remote monitoring for homebound  Medicare beneficiaries.”

About Telehealth / Telemedicine

The Institute of Medicine defines telemedicine as “a combination of innovative and mainstream technologies. As defined here, telemedicine is the use of electronic information and communications technologies to provide and support health care when distance separates the participants.” This definition covers any combination of electronic consultation or treatment and includes both clinical and educational components. Telemedicine and telehealth rely on the integrity, speed and reliability of Internet and video connection capabilities.

According to the ATA, telehealth “could benefit rural locations by a reduction of in-person hospital overuse, such as in emergency rooms and preventable inpatient admissions; relieving provider shortages; improving patient outcomes and quality; and supporting care coordination and population health.”

The issues surrounding telehealth revolve around quality of patient care, state licensing, billing and government payments for services.

Additional Support

The ATA is the leading advocate for changes in policy and integration of teleheath, but they are not alone in their quest for policy reform. Other stakeholders from the medical community and policy makers are also in favor of addressing telehealth issues. According to a Washington Post article on the matter, “[Former U.S. Sen. Tom] Daschle, with help from former senators Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and John Breaux (D-La.), created a coalition of companies at the intersection of health and technology to push for changing regulations governing telehealth. Current members of the Alliance for Connected Care, which launched publicly last month, include Verizon, WellPoint, CVS and Walgreens, among others.”

This alliance represents healthcare providers, telehealth providers, and Internet providers, each with a stake in the topic. The Alliance for Connectedcare and Well Point are telehealth providers. Verizon, provides Internet connections in many areas; CVS and Walgreens are other healthcare stakeholders.

Telehealth and the future

Telehealth is anticipated to grow and integrate into the future of mainstream healthcare. The ATA’s letter to HHS and the dialog starting with consortium members will begin to shape our attitudes and best practices for telehealth policies of the future. It is understandable that we do not have the proper mechanisms in place to handle the aspects of telehealth. Remember, it was not so long ago that cell phones weren’t the norm and video conferencing was something we saw on The Jetsons


Edited by Rory J. Thompson
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