Resources & Reports

CCHP’s November newsletter is here! This month’s topics include – CMS Releases CY 2025 Physician Fee Schedule with Telehealth Policy Updates and Key Modifications; Expanded Flexibility for Home Health Telehealth Reporting During Inpatient Stays; Key Insights from New IMLCC Reports on Licensing, Physician Impact, and Service Expansion; Another Extension on DEA Telehealth Prescribing Rules for Controlled Substances in White House Review; CMS Clarifies Billing Requirements for Telehealth Medicare Diabetes Self-Management Training (DSMT); Telehealth Proves as Effective as In-Person Care for Early Palliative Treatment in Advanced Lung Cancer.

In October, four US Senators sent requests for more information to two of the largest pharmaceutical companies operating in the United States, Eli Lilly and Pfizer.  The letters concerned both companies’ recent actions in establishing telehealth direct-to-consumer (DTC) platforms. As noted in a press release by Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), these platforms operate by providing an opportunity for consumers to “talk to a doctor now” after they have read about the company’s medications and the potential benefits.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) telehealth website offers a number of resources for patients and providers looking to utilize services via telehealth. The website also offers funding opportunities related to telehealth and broadband programs, as well as a research section.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a new report regarding remote patient monitoring (RPM), which describes existing federal coverage policies and recent utilization rates, as well as recommending additional oversight of the telehealth modality’s use within the Medicare program. In particular, OIG’s review sought to understand how RPM, which is the collection and transmission of health data in a patient’s home to assist providers in managing a patient’s condition, is being used by Medicare patients and billed by Medicare providers. OIG found a dramatic increase in RPM use over the past few years and made a number of recommendations to ensure sufficient oversight and billing of RPM services going forward.