Starting this year, Medicare Advantage beneficiaries are able to access additional telehealth benefits not offered under Medicare Fee-for-Service, giving patients the option to receive health care services from more convenient locations, like their homes, rather than requiring them to go to a health care facility.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule and the Advance Notice Part II to further advance the agency’s efforts to strengthen and modernize the Medicare Advantage and Part D prescription drug programs.
CMS is proposing to build on the current benefits and give Medicare Advantage plans more flexibility to count telehealth providers in certain specialty areas like psychiatry, neurology, or cardiology towards network adequacy standards, which would encourage greater use of telehealth services as well as increase plan choices for beneficiaries.
These proposed changes aim to give seniors more plan choices in rural areas, increase competition between plans, and allow providers to take advantage of the latest healthcare technologies and innovations.
Starting this year, Medicare Advantage beneficiaries are able to access additional telehealth benefits not offered under Medicare Fee-for-Service, giving patients the option to receive health care services from more convenient locations, like their homes, rather than requiring them to go to a health care facility.
CMS is proposing to build on the current benefits and give Medicare Advantage plans more flexibility to count telehealth providers in certain specialty areas like psychiatry, neurology, or cardiology towards network adequacy standards, which would encourage greater use of telehealth services as well as increase plan choices for beneficiaries. These proposed changes aim to give seniors more plan choices in rural areas, increase competition between plans, and allow providers to take advantage of the latest healthcare technologies and innovations.
Over the past several years, Medicare has begun to cover more telehealth services through changes to chronic care policies. See the list of the telehealth services that are covered specifically under Medicare chronic conditions.
Lisa Remington is widely recognized as one of the foremost futurists in the home care industry, focusing on healthcare trends and disruptive innovation. She serves as the president and publisher of the Remington Report magazine and is also the President of Remington’s Think Tank Strategy Institute. Lisa provides strategic advice and education to over 10,000 organizations, assisting them in developing transformative strategies for growth and their future implications. She closely monitors complex trends and forces of change to develop effective strategic approaches.
