November Regulatory Update – This Month in Telehealth
Federal and Medicare
Telemedicine Largely Left Out of MACRA (Politico)
Telemedicine advocates in Washington are “disappointed” that Friday’s MACRA rule largely ignores their technology. But they’re using it as a reason to support congressional action to give Medicare greater freedom to pay for telemedicine.
Read more here
Payers urge CBO to Give Telemedicine a Fair Shake (mHealth Intelligence)
Almost a dozen of the nation’s largest health plans say telemedicine and telehealth should play a more important role in the Congressional Budget Office’s review of Medicare bills.
Read more here
What’s Happening at the State Level?
Arkansas
For Second Time, Medical Board OKs Telemedicine Rule (Arkansas News)
The Arkansas State Medical Board voted Thursday to approve a proposed regulation concerning the online transferal of patients’ medical records after two legislative panels previously declined to review the rule.
Read more here
Mississippi
Mississippi’s Outdated Health are Policies Need an Update (Sun Herald)
Considering nearly 60 percent of Mississippians live in primary care shortage areas, telemedicine is a boon for our state.
Read more here
New Jersey
NJ Lawmakers Consider Bill to Regulate Telemedicine (NJTV News)
New Jersey legislators are considering a bill to regulate telemedicine: the use of videoconferencing between a medical professional and patient.
Read more here.
Note: The NJ Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee will meet on Thursday, November 3, 2016 at 1:00 PM EST in Committee Room 4, 1st Floor, State House Annex, Trenton, NJ to consider the telemedicine bill S 291.
Read SB 291 here
If unable to attend in person, you can watch live coverage of the committee hearing here.
Pennsylvania
Topper’s Telemedicine Bill Awaiting Pa. Governor’s Signature (HM Media)
Pennsylvania state Rep. Jesse Topper said this week that his bill related to telemedicine was approved by the Pennsylvania Senate and is heading to Gov. Tom Wolf’s desk on its way to becoming law.
Read more here
Read HB 1619 here
Texas
Texas Withdraws Teladoc Antitrust Lawsuit Appeal Texas (Healthcare Dive)
Texas and the state’s medical board have dropped their appeal of a lower court’s refusal to dismiss Teladoc’s antitrust lawsuit challenging a restrictive telemedicine rule.
Read more here
All Things Parity
| State | Bill Number | Status | Issue |
| Massachusetts | HB 4442 (formerly HB 267) | Enacted | Would allow access to telemedicine services by allowing certain clinicians to be credentialed and allowing for coverage of such services by all payers and the Medicaid program. |
***Information Gathered from ATA Monthly Update Webinar
Interstate Licensure Compact Updates…
| National Reciprocity | ||
| Department of Defense | ||
| Department of veterans affairs (S2170 and HR 2516) | ||
| Medicare (S 1778 and HR 3081) | ||
| Expedited | ||
| Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) 18 states | Alabama, Arizona, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Pennsylvania, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming and Colorado | |
| Mutual Recognition | ||
| National Council for State Boards of Nursing (Enhanced NLC and APRN) | Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wyoming | |
| Association for State and Provincial Psychology Boards (PSYPACT) | Needs 7 states: Arizona | |
***Information Gathered from ATA Monthly Update Webinar
Read more here
Momentum Grows for Telehealth Licensing Compacts (mHealth Intelligence)
Read more here
In Other News…
Most Employers Paying for Doctor Telemedicine Visits (Forbes)
Read more here
NAMI to Focus on Heroin and Opioid Use (The Block Island Times)
Read more here
Read HB 7160B here (goes into effect Jan 1, 2018)
Untreated Mental Health Conditions: the Staggering Costs (Benefits pro)
Read more here
Telehealth Reimbursement and Its Interstate Licensure Problem (mHealth Intelligence)
Read more here
FYI…..
Navigating the Buzz Words of Telehealth (TelecomReseller)
Read more here
9 Roadblocks to Telemedicine from the Physician & Patient Perspective (Beckersspine)
Read more here
Strong Patient Demand for Telehealth Motivated by Convenience (mHealth Intelligence)
Read more here
See the survey results here
“GOTCHA” of the Month…..
What is MACRA
MACRA stands for Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA)
More than a year has passed since Congress voted to enact the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 and the Department of Health & Human Services issued its notice of proposed rulemaking for MACRA implementation. The finalized program was released by HHS on October 14th after a lengthy rulemaking and comment period.
At its most basic, MACRA repeals the sustainable growth rate — a series of Congressional fixes responsible for adjusting Medicare expenditures and provider reimbursement — and authorizes HHS to implement value-based initiatives aimed at improving care access for Medicare and CHIP beneficiaries. But MACRA is much more than that.
Please see the following resources to dig deeper into the details:
- HHS Finalizes Streamlined Medicare Payment System that Rewards Clinicians for Quality Patient Care
- What Is MACRA and What It Means to Providers, EHR Technology
- HHS Releases Finalized Quality Payment Program, MACRA Rule
Every month we aim to feature a new “Gotcha of the Month” – If you have a regulatory “gotcha” or question that you want us to pay special attention to, email cpapp@in-sight.net and your topic could be featured next month!
ABOUT CASEY PAPP, JD
Casey Papp is the Quality and Compliance Specialist at InSight Telepsychiatry. Papp is a law school graduate from Western New England University and is a barred attorney in New York.
