Dive Brief:
- The American Telemedicine Association has sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius asking for greater flexibility for Medicare providers being paid for telehealth.
- ATA CEO Jonathan Linkous told Sebelius that there are many "artificial barriers" that block Medicare providers from using telemedicine, including communications technology restrictions, narrow provider and covered services lists and patient location restrictions.
- Linkous is asking Sebelius to drop two Medicare statutes which he says needlessly block telemedicine use, one which limits telehealth options for ACOs and Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation alternative payment models, and one which prohibits ACOs and alternative payment models from using telehealth and remote monitoring for "homebound" Medicare beneficiaries.
Dive Insight:
Letting Medicare providers offer a wide range of telemedical services, without undue restrictions, is long overdue. It's about time that both Medicare and the seniors it serves reap the benefits of telemedicine's flexibility and affordability. With highly effective telemedicine solutions emerging what seems like daily, there's no excuse for blocking telemedicine use arbitrarily.