The bill that would expand Medicare coverage for telehealth services is being introduced again. Rather it has been done for the third time. A bipartisan group of lawmakers have reintroduced the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) Health Act of 2019 in the U.S. Senate.
The bill was reintroduced by members of the Congressional Telehealth Caucus - U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.).
Infact, the bill was first introduced in 2016 and then re-introduced in 2017. Sen. Schatz mentioned in the press release that telehealth is the future of health care. As the technology is spreading its wings, more providers and patients have begun to rely on it and a broad bipartisan support is available. He also said that this bill will help ensure that every American gets the care they need no matter where they live.
This reintroduction of the CONNECT Act is a vital step towards making telehealth services and Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) reimbursable for home health providers. RPM devices alert providers about the patients’ health trends thus, playing a major role in reducing hospital readmission rates.
If this bill is passed it would require the Medicare Payment Advisory Committee (MedPAC) to study and report which telehealth services would be suitable for home-based care, provide clarification for fraud and abuse laws with regards to technologies provided to beneficiaries, and allow for the use of telehealth in recertification for hospice care.
In-home providers are embracing telehealth services but the lack of reimbursement under Medicare has hindered widespread implementation. This is the biggest barrier for adoption according to Health Recovery Solutions (HRS) CEO Jarrett Bauer. Telehealth can’t be standard of care as its not a reimbursable event. If this challenge is solved it would greatly increase the quality of care across the country immediately.