Partnership to Advance Virtual Care

As expected, in the calendar year 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) proposed rule, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) did not value the new evaluation & management codes and continued to highlight the need for congressional action to extend current Medicare telehealth flexibilities. CMS did propose the addition of several codes to the provisional and permanent Medicare Telehealth Services List but declined to move any codes already on the provisional list to the permanent list. CMS also proposed broadening the definition of “interactive telecommunications” to include audio-only for any telehealth services (it is currently mental health only). Prior to the September 9, 2024 deadline, PAVC submitted a comment letter to encourage CMS to continue to expand access to telehealth services. Read that letter here: https://lnkd.in/e6yA3Y49. We are anticipating the final rule in the first few days of November. #telehealth #virtualcare

A new rule entitled, “Third Temporary Extension of COVID-19 Telemedicine Flexibilities for Prescription of Controlled Medications,” has arrived at the Office of Management & Budget, signaling that current Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) flexibilities around telemedicine prescribing of controlled substances will be temporarily extended while they work towards a more permanent solution. In addition, two Congressional letters to the DEA have been released. The first was a bipartisan letter led by US Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and signed by seven other Senators. The second was a bipartisan letter led by US Representatives Doris Matsui (D-CA) and Buddy Carter (R-GA) and signed by 16 other Members. Both letters urged the DEA to extend the current flexibilities. Links: - Read the new rule: https://lnkd.in/e7vbWZwj - Read more about the pending extension: https://lnkd.in/eGaVP8iY - Read the Senate letter: https://lnkd.in/eD_XKQ_k - Read the House letter: https://lnkd.in/grEgHPYq #Telehealth #VirtualCare #DEA #HealthcarePolicy

Continuing our state of play of key #telehealth issues that Congress needs to address by the end of the year, let's take a look at the current status of US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) telemedicine prescribing of controlled substances. A revised proposed rule from the DEA that deals with prescribing controlled substances via telehealth is still pending release, due to reported differences of opinion between the DEA and the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In the meantime, the pandemic-era flexibilities that allowed for this policy are set to expire on December 31, 2024, without further action from the DEA or Congress. PAVC is in regular communication with like-minded stakeholders and signed letters to the White House, Senate, and House advocating for a two-year extension of the current flexibilities a few weeks ago. A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House and Senate are discussing a letter to the DEA advocating for an extension of the current flexibilities and have signaled they are open to legislative action if the flexibilities are not extended. Recent reports indicate that the DEA Administrator may be open to a one-year extension. Stakeholder advocacy efforts are ongoing, and we will continue to keep you updated on developments and progress. Read our White House letter: https://lnkd.in/eUMrnGwc Read our Senate letter: https://lnkd.in/eaZtnKAf Read our House letter: https://lnkd.in/eCHNqmwZ #telehealth #virtualcare

Listen to this week's episode of the Breakroom podcast, as PAVC's Julia Grabo discusses the recent CMS report on the Acute Hospital Care at Home program.

This #WorldMentalHealthDay, we join others in recognizing that an estimated 1 in 4 adults in the U.S. suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder each year. With providers still challenged to meet this overwhelming demand, #telehealth has become essential to improving patient access to mental health care. Without Congressional action, current Medicare telehealth flexibilities will expire on December 31, disrupting care for millions of patients.

Of course, as we move towards the end of the year, PAVC remains heavily focused on pushing for extensions of Medicare telehealth flexibilities, currently set to expire on December 21, 2024. As of September 18, 2024, the House Ways & Means and Energy & Commerce Committees have now both advanced a two-year extension of Medicare telehealth flexibilities. While this progress is positive, the two committees still need to reconcile their versions of the extension bill, and the Senate has yet to act. Given the limited time remaining on the legislative calendar this year, it is likely that this extension will also be included in a year-end package, rather than continuing to move under so-called “regular order” in the House and Senate. PAVC is optimistic the Medicare telehealth flexibilities will be extended and remains in constant communication with key offices in the House and Senate to ensure the momentum continues and the flexibilities are included in an end-of-year package. #telehealth #virtualcare #Medicare

With Congress in recess until after the election, PAVC has put together a state of play on a few key issues as we gear up for the end-of-year session. First up is the HSA-HDHP Safe Harbor. We continue to push for an extension of the telehealth safe harbor for first-dollar coverage for those with health savings account (HSA)-eligible high deductible health plans (HDHPs), before its expiration on December 31, 2024. We are cautiously optimistic an extension of the HDHP safe harbor will be included in an end-of-year package, though much of this depends on the outcome of the election and what legislative vehicle may be available for lawmakers to include this policy. Similar to previous extensions, additional negotiations are likely in order to get this policy across the finish line. #telehealth #virtualcare

The Partnership to Advance Virtual Care brings together like-minded stakeholders to secure necessary regulatory and legislative changes to improve the virtual health regulatory and reimbursement landscape. We are composed of health systems, health IT vendors, innovators, chronic care specialists, and primary care stakeholders, each of whom has a leading voice in virtual health and resounding influence in Washington, DC. To learn more about our current membership and to join our efforts, please visit: https://lnkd.in/g5_3hfB #Telehealth #VirtualCare #HealthCarePolicy

This week, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai’i) led members of the bipartisan Senate Telehealth Working Group in calling on Senate leaders to take up legislation to permanently extend telehealth flexibilities for Medicare beneficiaries set to expire at the end of the year. In a letter to Senate leaders, the senators urge for the passage of the bipartisan CONNECT for Health Act. In addition to Schatz, the letter is signed by Wicker and U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), and Mark Warner (D-Va.). Read the full letter here: https://lnkd.in/gvZcAU29 PAVC thanks these senators for supporting a permanent extension of Medicare telehealth flexibilities, and for recognizing the importance and urgency of this matter. We encourage Congress to work towards the policies described in their letter to ensure patients who have come to rely on telehealth do not experience any disruptions in care. #Telehealth #Medicare

In addition to the House Energy & Commerce Committee unanimously advancing H.R. 7623, the Telehealth Modernization Act of 2024, last week, the House also passed two telehealth bills under suspension of the rules, which is an expedited process for floor consideration of legislation that has broad support. H.R. 7858, the Telehealth Enhancement for Mental Health Act, would establish a modifier for telehealth services claims that are billed incident to a physician’s or practitioner’s service. Read the full bill: https://lnkd.in/ePxVvGSN H.R. 6033, the SPEAK Act, would establish a task force to create best practices for improving access to health information technology for non-English speakers. Read the full bill: https://lnkd.in/eRrXH94Q #TelehealthTuesday #Telehealth