After New York became the 22nd state to enact a telemedicine commercial coverage statute, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed an amendment changing the statute. The amendment makes sweeping changes to telehealth coverage under New...more
10/20/2015
/ Amended Legislation ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Health Insurance ,
Hospitals ,
Medicaid ,
Nurse Practitioners ,
Nurses ,
Physicians ,
Psychological Counseling ,
Reimbursements ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
As U.S. health care providers continue to use telehealth, telemedicine, and virtual care services to expand their services and geographic footprint overseas, they are beginning to ask whether or not Medicare will cover...more
Telehealth continues to be an innovative alternative to traditional brick-and-mortar medicine. The number of providers offering telehealth services is rapidly increasing and states are enacting laws requiring health plans to...more
9/8/2015
/ Alternative Payment Models (APM) ,
App Developers ,
China ,
Controlled Substances ,
DEA ,
Fourth Amendment ,
Fraud Alerts ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Independent Contractors ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Medical License ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization (MACRA) ,
OIG ,
Physician Compensation Arrangements ,
Physicians ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Private Equity ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine ,
Venture Capital
There will always be differences among state laws on telehealth coverage, but what is remarkable is the rapidly increasing pace at which states have been adopting coverage statutes in the last few years, with currently 29...more
9/1/2015
/ Amended Legislation ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Commercial Insurance Policies ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
Healthcare ,
Medicaid ,
Medical Devices ,
Medical Reimbursement ,
Medicare ,
New Legislation ,
Pending Legislation ,
Physicians ,
Reimbursements ,
Software Developers ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
Congress is reviewing legislation designed to permit telemedicine providers to treat Medicare patients across state lines without the need for separate state licensure. The Telemedicine for Medicare Act of 2015 (S. 1778 and...more
Health care providers who use telemedicine for remote prescribing of controlled substances should pay close attention to an important case currently pending at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The case will decide whether...more
8/12/2015
/ Controlled Substances ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
DEA ,
Doctor-Patient Privilege ,
Electronic Prescribing ,
Fourth Amendment ,
Health Care Providers ,
In-Person Exam ,
Medical Records ,
Patient Privacy Rights ,
Physicians ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Probable Cause ,
Search Warrant ,
Subpoenas ,
Telemedicine ,
Warrantless Searches
The Maine Board of Licensure in Medicine enacted new guidelines governing the practice of telemedicine and the use of technology to deliver health care services. Effective June 2014, Maine’s guidelines expand upon prior Board...more
The Colorado Medical Board proposed updated draft guidelines for the delivery of healthcare services via telehealth, as well as remote prescribing for new patients. Recognizing that “using telehealth technologies in the...more
7/20/2015
/ Disclosure Requirements ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Healthcare ,
Informed Consent ,
Medical Records ,
Physicians ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) and co-sponsors Rep. Gregg Harper (R-MS), Rep. Diane Black (R-TN), and Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) announced, on July 7, 2015, the introduction of the Medicare Telehealth Parity Act of 2015,...more
7/15/2015
/ American Telemedicine Association ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
ESRD ,
FQHC ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Pending Legislation ,
Physician Medicare Reimbursements ,
Physicians ,
Reimbursements ,
Rural Health Care Program ,
Rural Health Care Providers ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
CMS just introduced proposed rules to clarify the requirements and payment opportunities when hospitals want to bill Medicare for Chronic Care Management (“CCM”) services.
CCM is an exciting service covered by Medicare...more
7/15/2015
/ Billing ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Healthcare ,
Hospitals ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
OPPS ,
Physician Fee Schedule ,
Physicians ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Telehealth
Note: This is a companion piece to our parallel article discussing the various Delaware commercial insurance coverage requirements in the Act.
Delaware Gov. Jack Merkell signed into law, on July 7, 2015, a bill...more
7/10/2015
/ Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Hospitals ,
New Legislation ,
Nurses ,
Physicians ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
Many telehealth companies, particularly those with multi-state footprints, look to an independent contractor model when developing their network of physician providers. An independent contractor model (using 1099 contractors)...more
In a word: yes. Telemedicine was one of the many beneficiaries of changes introduced by the so-called “doc fix” bill, formally titled the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (H.R. 2). The legislation was passed by...more
The Texas Medical Board issued an Emergency Rule with proposed changes to the practice standards and disciplinary guidelines for remote prescribing via telemedicine consults. The Emergency Rule states that the use of online...more
It appears some people believe physicians are slow adopters to new avenues of health care delivery. Our recent survey of senior-level health care executives identified securing physician support as their second largest...more
Technology pervades every sector of our economy, and certainly has impacted the health care industry. One example is telemedicine. Telemedicine has the potential to exponentially expand a provider’s geographic footprint,...more
After more than 18 months in the works, and with much public coverage in the telemedicine industry, the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) made its Interstate Medical Licensure Compact available for review by state...more
The Florida Board of Medicine enacted new regulations governing the Standards for Telemedicine Practice. The regulations are identical for allopaths (64B8-9.0141) and osteopaths (64B15-14.0081). The new regulations went into...more