Administration Eases Telehealth Restrictions Amid Coronavirus Outbreak
President Donald Trump said his administration will allow telehealth services to be covered under Medicare, which he called a “historic breakthrough” aimed at reducing the number of Americans contracting COVID-19 at doctors’ offices. “Medicare patients can now visit any doctor…
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by phone or videoconference at no additional cost, including with commonly used services like FaceTime and Skype,” Trump said during a Tuesday White House news conference. “This has never been done before.” Stakeholders have also been urging the FCC to expedite its Connected Care in-home patient monitoring pilot (see 2003120002). The Trump administration is expanding telehealth eligibility by giving the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services the authority to waive program requirements restricting funding for treatments outside of in-person doctor visits. “Medicare beneficiaries across the nation, no matter where they live, will now be able to receive a wide range of services via telehealth without ever having to leave home,” said CMMS Administrator Seema Verma. “And these services can also be provided in a variety of settings, including nursing homes, hospital outpatient departments, and more.” The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Civil Rights also won't levy penalties for telehealth-related violations of patient privacy under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. States also have the authority to cover telehealth services for their medical patients, Trump said. Legislation Trump signed Friday to provide $8.3 billion in coronavirus-related funding included $500 million for expanding telehealth services.