Resources & Reports

While many pieces of federal legislation regarding telehealth have been introduced over the last two years, as shown in the recently introduced S. 3593: Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act, there are some consistent components that continue to emerge as key elements across federal telehealth bills and policy conversations. Initially, many bills focused on making telehealth expansions permanent, but there has been a shift to now just proposing to extend such expansions, namely those that lessen Medicare geographic barriers and federal prescribing limitations, in addition to allowing more time to study expansion related effects.

As policymakers consider permanent telehealth policy changes, tracking the latest data has become increasingly important, in addition to breaking down data highlights and differences. Two new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Data Highlight reports were recently released that look at telehealth trends amongst Medicare patients during the pandemic. In addition, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report submitted to Congress in early February assessed telehealth expansion impacts related to mental healthcare access for military service members.

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) Office of Health Policy recently released a new Issue Brief titled National Survey Trends in Telehealth Use in 2021: Disparities in Utilization and Audio vs. Video Services. The analysis found a number of trends that can be helpful in understanding remaining telehealth barriers and their interaction with health care disparities. Utilizing Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey (HPS) information from 2021, the study focused on differences in use between live video and audio-only telehealth modalities.

CCHP’s February Newsletter is Here! This month’s topics include: CMS Releases Article on CY2022 Telehealth Update to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule; Federal Lawmakers Send Letter Urging Leadership to Extend Telehealth Expansions; HHS Proposes Rule to Collect Information on Telehealth for ACA Plan Issuers; No Surprise Act has Disclosure Requirement Implications for Telemedicine Providers; January Policy Developments in CCHP’s Telehealth Policy Finder and Policy Trends Maps; Spotlight on the National Emergency Tele-Critical Care Network (NETCCN) in Supporting COVID Efforts & Preparing for the Next Emergency; New COVID-19 Telehealth Program Funding for 68 Healthcare Providers; Associated Press-NORC Survey on Telehealth Attitudes of Older Adults.

At the end of 2021, a provision in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020, which allowed patients increased access to telehealth, expired. Under the law, employees with high-deductible health plans and Health Savings Accounts (HDHP-HSAs) were able to receive telehealth benefits pre-deductible, rather than having to meet certain out-of-pocket thresholds before telehealth would be covered by their employer or health plan. On January 21, 2022, health care stakeholders sent a letter to Congressional Leaders urging them to quickly reinstate these provisions of law and ensure telehealth access is maintained for all Americans. The letter includes the citation of a survey conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, indicating that 96 percent of employers were utilizing that law to offer telehealth coverage pre-deductible to 32 million employees across the country.