Telehealth or Telemedicine
COVID-19 Telehealth Waivers Won’t Last Forever, But Permanent Regulatory Changes Are Afoot
Guest Author March 8, 2021
Healthcare providers are increasingly realizing the potential that telemedicine has to offer. Not only has it been the most talked-about healthcare solution lately, but waivers from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have enabled providers to begin implementing telemedicine tools themselves, resulting in skyrocketing adoption over the past year. Now, these waivers might be temporary for the time being, but with telehealth adoption at an all-time high, federal and state governments are under increasing pressure to make these emergency measures permanent. Congress is under particular pressure to pass …
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How the United States Can Use Telehealth Expansion to Achieve Market Savings
Kendall Kohlmeyer, Student Fellow October 2, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the rapid expansion of telehealth services. This has led the federal government and many states to expand insurance coverage for telehealth services through emergency waivers of certain requirements. Implemented ideally, widespread telehealth use could lower the overall cost of health care in commercial markets by lowering per-patient and per-visit costs for specialty and primary care providers, while increasing patient satisfaction and quality of care. However, if done poorly, telehealth expansion could increase healthcare costs by providing easy access to care that is unlikely to improve health …
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Federal Telehealth Waivers Provide Flexibility During the COVID-19 Crisis to Expand Coverage and Access to Healthcare
Source Fellow June 30, 2020
By: Megan Pham, Student Fellow COVID-19 has upended the way individuals across the country access medical care and has made doctors’ offices and hospitals high-risk grounds for transmission. This leaves the elderly and immunocompromised who seek care especially vulnerable. In response, the U.S. Department of Human and Health Services (HHS) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have adopted a series of waivers to allow increased access to and coverage of healthcare services through telehealth. PRE-PANDEMIC TELEHEALTH Telehealth is “the use of telecommunications and information technology to …
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The Source Roundup: June 2020 Edition
Kendall Kohlmeyer, Student Fellow June 1, 2020
The Source continues to extend wishes of safety and good health to you and your loved ones during this uniquely challenging time. Despite the reality that much of the healthcare industry suffers financial catastrophe due to the pandemic, experts note improvements in some areas. Authors this month expect some advancements to last and suggest how the U.S. should use them to diminish costs. Changes in Telehealth Will Likely Outlast the Pandemic In JAMA’s Implications for Telehealth in a Postpandemic Future, Carmel Shachar and co-authors affirm positive outcomes that the …
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[Press Release] States Increasingly Turn to Legislation to Promote Competition and Control Health Care Prices, Per New Analysis from CPR and UC Hastings
Amy Y. Gu, Managing Editor February 25, 2020
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – February 25, 2020 – High commercial health care prices are a main driver of US health care spending, due in large part to consolidation among providers. While employers, other health care purchasers and payers can drive competition in the marketplace through benefit and provider network design, public policies can also strengthen and support those efforts. Catalyst for Payment Reform and The Source on Healthcare Price and Competition at UC Hastings College of the Law have catalogued state measures to enhance market competitiveness and control costs through legislation. The report, State Policies …
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The Source Roundup: August 2019 Edition
Source Fellow August 1, 2019
By: Hayden Soria, Student Fellow Happy August! Even as the summer winds down, there is no waning of health policy literature. In this month’s Source Roundup, we take a look at academic articles and studies that analyze 1) potential prescription drug savings from generics and biosimilars, 2) the need for price transparency, and 4) a multitude of efforts in health system reform. Potential Prescription Drug Savings from Generics and Biosimilars As prescription drug pricing continue to capture the nation’s attention, Stacie B. Dusetzina et al. take a dive into cost …
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AB 744 and Other 2019 Bills Seek to Increase and Improve Telehealth Delivery in California
Sammy Chang, Health Policy Researcher March 31, 2019
Avoid driving, get help instantly. That’s the premise of telehealth. Telehealth, under California law, is defined as “the mode of delivering health care services and public health via information and communication technologies to facilitate the diagnosis, consultation, treatment, education, care management, and self-management of a patient’s health care.”[1] One study has shown that the use of telehealth, in California, has been found to save a patient 278 miles in driving, 4 hours in time, and $156 in direct travel costs per consultation.[2] As such, telehealth has been used as an …
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The Source Roundup: January 2019 Edition
Source Fellow January 2, 2019
By: Megan O’Leary, Student Fellow Happy New Year! We hope this year is filled with good health (policy) and much happiness! In this roundup, we look at (1) proposals to address healthcare costs and competition, (2) changes to section 1332 waivers, (3) rising healthcare costs, premiums, and deductibles, and three articles specifically about telehealth from a special Health Affairs issue. Proposals to Address Rising Healthcare Costs and Lack of Competition On December 3, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in collaboration with the Departments of the …
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The Source Roundup: November 2018 Edition
Source Fellow November 1, 2018
By: Swaja Khanna, Student Fellow Happy November! We hope you are enjoying football season and preparing for turkey! In this edition of the Source Roundup, we cover five academic articles and reports from October. The topics this month include (1) the popularity of telemedicine for employers and employees, (2) an integrated health care system that combines ACO and bundled payment, (3) health spending growth in the coming years, (4) Maryland’s new initiative reduced hospital utilization and costs, and (5) how to remedy recent generic drug price hikes. Telemedicine Is …
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What Drives Scalable Innovation in Healthcare? Hint: It’s Not Cost Savings, Outcomes, or Technology
Guest Author October 1, 2015
By Guest Blogger: Amanda Goltz, MPA, Industry Consultant In the avalanche of media coverage, conference sessions, and social media posts around why the $2.7 trillion healthcare industry is one of the slowest to adopt widespread innovation, there’s plenty about the barriers to change, but not a lot of what truly drives the few widespread changes that actually have happened. We understand that the third party payer system distorts business models, the practice of medicine is an art as much as a science, fee for service rewards process, not outcomes, and that …
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