Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program (MDPP) is not getting a satisfying response so, lawmakers have urged federal officials to add telehealth to the program. A group of 19 senators have addressed a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma, asking them to make virtual care part of a Medicare-backed service.
CMS decides new reimbursement rules for Remote Patient Monitoring
Finalized guidelines were released by the Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services with regards to remote patient monitoring services. Hospitals and health systems will now see Medicare reimbursement for more remote patient monitoring services.
Bill expanding Medicare coverage for telehealth introduced for the third time
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.
‘Netflix model’ for hep C drugs approved
Another state has signed on to a “Netflix” style payment model for hepatitis C drugs.
Washington state now joins Louisiana in paying a flat rate for “cheap” access to the drugs. It has agreed to give AbbVie some $321 million to treat about 30,000 patients with its glecaprevir/pibrentasvir combo pill (Mavyret) over four years.
Treating hard-to-heal chronic diabetic foot ulcers
Patients suffering from chronic diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) have experienced at least a fourfold increase in healing over standard of care with 12 weeks of home-based topical wound oxygen (TWO2) therapy. This was studied by investigators in a sham-controlled, double-blind trials they described as “groundbreaking.”