LeadingAge Recommends Medicare Changes to Congressional Telehealth Caucus

Posted on April 10, 2019 by Jodi Boyne

Responding to the Congressional Telehealth Caucus's request for information, LeadingAge recommended several changes in Medicare policy to expand access to telehealth services and remote monitoring, improve patient outcomes, and control health care costs.  

The recommendations focused on testing new delivery models that address older adults in care centers and improve health outcomes among Medicare beneficiaries living in the community in home-based settings. Specifically:

• Waive certain statutory Medicare telehealth requirements, such as rural and originating site restrictions, and allow the patient’s home to be an eligible originating site for administering telehealth services.
• Allow additional long-term services and supports providers to bill for chronic care and complex care management in broader segments of the Medicare population.

The Congressional Telehealth Caucus is beginning to craft legislation and improvements they are seeking include:

• Expansion of access to telehealth and remote monitoring, especially in rural or otherwise underserved communities.
• Improved patient outcomes, whether by expanding access to specialists or other providers or by easing the day-to-day patient experience.
• Easier and expanded use of existing telehealth and remote monitoring technologies, many of which suffer from low uptake rates.
• Reduction of healthcare costs for both patients and federal programs, including Medicare.