Telehealth use exploded during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and virtual visits have become common for a wide range of medical services. But this was only possible because of regulations the government relaxed during the public health emergency. Now, as the virus begins to release its grip on the United States, telehealth companies and medical groups are pushing to make these pandemic-inspired changes permanent.
Congress recently extended many telehealth changes for five months after the Biden Administration declares an end to the public health emergency, which is currently scheduled to expire on April 16. While it is widely expected that President Joe Biden will extend the public health emergency again, he has been under increasing pressure to unwind pandemic precautions. The congressional extension temporarily eases concerns about a “telehealth cliff” that could abruptly end coverage for virtual treatment, but telehealth lobbyists want to go further.
Proponents of telehealth argue that the regulatory changes have done away with outdated, cumbersome limitations and that expanding telehealth improves access and convenience for patients. But some policymakers still have questions about the quality of care telehealth can deliver, the cost of expanding it further, and the potential for fraud in virtual care.
“Given how much we still do not know about telehealth with respect to cost, outcomes, quality— whether it is adding costs to the Medicare program or saving Medicare dollars—we believe it would be premature to make these expansions permanent,” says James Matthews, executive director of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), which advises Congress on Medicare. MedPAC will collect data in 2021 and 2022 so that it can study what “more of a steady state” of telehealth use looks…
Source : time
