Dive Brief:
- The House Energy and Commerce Committee released a "discussion document" seeking feedback on its 21st Century Cures initiative, which is filled with a number of healthcare IT proposals.
- Key provisions include one that would create a process at the US Food and Drug Administration to expedite the review of "breakthrough" medical devices; another that would require that data be shared by those receiving grants from the National Institutes of Health; and a third to advance telemedicine opportunities for Medicare beneficiaries.
- However, while suggestions within the provision for improving Medicare's telehealth policy are broadly considered to be a step in the right direction, a letter from the American Hospital Association to committee chairman Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) says they don't go far enough.
Dive Insight:
The "Advancing Telehealth Opportunities in Medicare" proposal calls on HHS to draw up a methodology to expand coverage and payment for telehealth services nationally. There are limitations to the provision, however. It will only apply if the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services find that those telehealth services "would reduce [or would not result in any increase in] net program spending under this title."
According to the AHA, the proposal does not address technology limitations within Medicare itself, or how remote monitoring would be funded.
"We also are concerned that the requirement for the Medicare actuary to certify telehealth cost neutrality for specific services would be hard for HHS to operationalize, and would add a time consuming step when technology is advancing at a rapid pace," the AHA wrote.