Hospitals eye permanent telehealth expansion with FCC funds – By Gopal Ratnam (Roll Call) / Aug 18 2020
Physicians say pandemic has shown not only the utility but also the effectiveness of remote health care delivery
Hundreds of hospitals and health care centers from Washington state to Louisiana are expanding telehealth infrastructure thanks to $200 million that Congress appropriated for the Federal Communications Commission in emergency legislation.
In some cases, hospitals are supplementing the federal funds from the $2 trillion coronavirus relief law enacted in March with their own money to expand health care delivery through remote devices, cameras and software with patients remaining at home during the pandemic.
The combined government and private investment could make it incumbent upon Congress to permanently remove barriers to widespread use of telehealth even when the pandemic ends. Bipartisan legislation introduced in the House and the Senate already promises to do that and also provide more federal funding to boost infrastructure connecting patients and doctors.
In March, the Department of Health and Human Services waived restrictions as an emergency measure so that Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries could consult with doctors remotely without having to travel to designated sites. Before that waiver, Medicare would pay for telehealth only when the person receiving the service was in a designated rural area and went to a designated location to get a telehealth consultation.
Continue to article: https://rollcall.com/2020/08/18/hospitals-eye-permanent-telehealth-expansion-with-fcc-funds/
