CCHP wishes you a very Happy Thanksgiving! As we all reflect on what we are grateful for this season, we want to thank you for being part of the CCHP family and supporting our telehealth policy work. We also want to remind you that while telehealth policy might continue to change, having us as a resource does not — we remain here to help you sort through all the latest developments.
The Center for Connected Health Policy (CCHP) held its third Medicaid webinar series September – October 2021. The Fall Medicaid Webinar Series featured presenters from seven state Medicaid or other state offices (Arizona, Colorado, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee and Vermont). CCHP has issued a summary report of the Fall series which can be found on CCHP’s website. To watch recordings of webinars held within the Winter and Spring Medicaid and Telehealth webinar series, visit CCHP’s webinars page or read the respective summary reports of the earlier series, Winter and Spring on CCHP’s reports page.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released its final CY 2022 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) policies for Medicare last week. Unless otherwise noted, the policies will take effect on January 1, 2022. Much of the proposals published in July 2021 for public commentary remain intact, but CMS did make several modifications and clarifications. Other changes were also finalized for CY 2022. To read a more detailed description and analysis view CCHP’s fact sheet. To read the full PFS, download the unpublished version. The published version will appear in the Federal Register on November 19, 2021.
CCHP November Newsletter is here! This month’s topics include: Final CY 2022 PFS and Telemental Health Policies, Federal Public Health Emergency Renewed into January, Extending Telehealth Flexibilities, New Variations in Telehealth Private Payer Laws to Watch, CMS Releases Medicaid Telehealth Utilization Data, Place of Service Code Update, AHRQ Requests Data on Telehealth during COVID-19 Era from Public, CCHP’s Fall 2021 Summary, Chart & Infographic Released Highlighting Recent Telehealth Policy Changes, JD Power Survey on Direct-to-Consumer Telehealth Satisfaction, CMS Funds Four States to Expand Telehealth through Community Health Access and Rural Transformation (CHART) Model.
The Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) released a telehealth report on October 18th that looked at the relationship between providers and Medicare patients utilizing telehealth between March and December 2020. Specifically, HHS-OIG examined encounter claims data to determine the presence of pre-existing relationships, dates of any prior visits, and the types of services provided. Interestingly, it was found that though pre-pandemic requirements limiting telehealth visits to established patients were waived, 84% of visits still occurred within those parameters.
