Recently, the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee met to discuss telehealth policies. In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, the federal government adopted a number of regulations related to telehealth. The HELP Committee is strongly considering making many of these regulations permanent.
What is the Purpose of Telehealth Policies?
Telehealth policies have helped to expand access to healthcare providers. With telehealth, patients have access to virtual visits and remote monitoring tools. Telehealth has been instrumental in the treatment of COVID-19. The HELP Committee met in June of 2020, to discuss which recent legal changes related to telehealth policies should be made permanent or at least extended once the COVID-19 pandemic comes to an end.
What Telehealth Policies Does the Help Committee Want to be Kept in Place?
All members of the Committee – Democrats and Republicans – were in favor of making at least some of the recent changes permanent. These changes include the elimination of limitations on originating sites, and the expansion of the types of providers who can be reimbursed through Medicare and Medicaid for providing virtual visits.
Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, Medicare patients could only access telehealth services for office, hospital visits, and other services that are generally in-person. This rule was known as the “limitation on originating sites” rule. After coronavirus was declared a national emergency, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services expanded the scope of authorized telehealth services, relaxing the “limitation on originating sites” rule. As a result, patients at their home may receive telehealth services from providers who are at distant sites (the provider’s office, or other location that is not in-person). Providers offering these expanded services must use an interactive audio and video telecommunications system that permits real-time communication between the provider’s site and the patient’s home. The Committee has indicated that it wishes to make the changes to the “limitation on originating sites” rule permanent.
The members of the Committee were also in agreement that the rule change expanding who Medicare will reimburse for telehealth treatment, be kept. Under this rule change, distant site practitioners (telehealth practitioners) who who can furnish and get payment for covered telehealth services (subject to state law) can include physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurse midwives, certified nurse anesthetists, clinical psychologists, clinical social workers, registered dietitians, and nutrition professionals.
Another telehealth policy rule change the Committee is considering for “permanent” status is the recent HHS’ Notice of Enforcement Discretion Policy. In this policy, HHS is waiving enforcement discretion for healthcare providers that are providing telehealth services in good faith. Under this policy, providers who act in good faith in the selection and use of non-public-facing telehealth services will generally not be fined under HIPAA.