Last week, the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) issued two pieces of guidance on the privacy and security of protected health information (“PHI”) when using telehealth services. One of the documents is intended to help health care providers explain to patients, in plain language, the privacy and security risks of using remote communication technologies for telehealth (the “Provider Telehealth Guidance”). The other provides tips to patients on how to safeguard their PHI when using video apps and other technologies for telehealth (the “Patient Telehealth Guidance”).Continue Reading OCR Issues Guidance to Providers and Patients on Telehealth Privacy and Security

On December 29, President Joe Biden signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (P.L. 117-164) (the “Act”)—an approximately $1.7 trillion spending package, which consists of all 12 fiscal year (FY) 2023 appropriations bills and funds the federal government through September 30, 2023, provides additional assistance to Ukraine, and makes numerous health care policy changes.  Continue Reading President Biden Signs End-of-Year Legislation Including Telehealth, Medicare & Medicaid, Mental Health, Pandemic Preparedness, and Other Health Care Provisions

On April 30, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a second round of regulatory waivers and rule changes in an interim final rule with comment (IFC) that added significant flexibilities for the coverage of telehealth services furnished by a broader set of eligible clinicians and in nontraditional health settings during the

Payers, Providers, and Patients – Oh My! Is Crowell & Moring’s biweekly health care podcast, discussing legal and regulatory issues that affect health care entities’ in-house counsel, executives, and investors. In this “deep dive” episode, hosts Payal Nanavati and Joe Records talk to Barbara Ryland about benefits under Medicare Part C.

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On October 3, President Trump signed an Executive Order on Protecting and Improving Medicare for Our Nation’s Seniors (EO), directing the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop various proposals to “protect and improve the Medicare” program as an alternative to the Medicare for All Act.

The EO aims to:

• Expand Medicare

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently proposed a rule to allow Medicare Advantage plans to expand telehealth benefit coverage. (See alert for more detail) This proposed rule implements the statutory provisions in section 50323 the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. What you might not know, however, is that the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 is only one of many legislative vehicles by which advocates for telehealth expansion have been able to move the needle definitively in their favor during this session of Congress.

Over the past two years, Congress has shown its support for the utilization of telehealth by introducing forty-one bills that, if passed, would require Medicare to reimburse providers for their use of telehealth to treat numerous health conditions such as stroke diagnosis, mental health, chronic care management and opioid addiction treatment. Of note, the Creating High-Quality Results and Outcomes Necessary to Improve Chronic (CHRONIC) Care Act of 2017 was the predecessor bill that passed out of the Senate in September of 2017 and became law on February 9, 2018 as a part of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018.
Continue Reading Government Affairs – The Progress of Telehealth Bills in Congress

This blog post has been prepared in collaboration with Nemours. Ms. Boyer is a Manager of Nemours Children’s HospitalMaya Upplauru is an associate in Crowell & Moring’s Health Care Group in Washington, D.C.

This Bulletin is brought to you by AHLA’s Children’s Health Affinity Group, which is part of the Academic Medical Centers and Teaching Hospitals and In-House Counsel Practice Groups.

One of the most fear-inducing experiences for new and first-time parents is the middle of the night illness of a young child. Many may head directly to the emergency department (ED) because they lack any means to communicate with their health care provider after-hours. Parents of children with chronic conditions or rare diseases are often forced to travel long distances to see specialists at regional centers of excellence and may struggle to check in or get questions answered once they are back at home. Teenagers managing chronic conditions may prematurely discontinue their treatment plan when they transition to college in a different state or when they enter the working world after college.
Continue Reading Delivering Virtual Pediatric Care Across State Lines: Regulatory Barriers and Opportunities

CMS announced important changes to Medicare reimbursement for remote patient monitoring and telemedicine that can help accelerate adoption and use of these digital health tools. These changes are implemented through two rules released this week that will take effect January 1, 2018. Understanding these rules can help you incorporate these tools into clinical practice and can positively affect the business model for technology developers and innovators.

What are these new rules and do they affect me?

The 2018 Quality Payment Program Final Rule provides policy updates to the Quality Payment Program (QPP), which was established by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) and will be entering its second year. MACRA offers two “tracks” for eligible clinicians to take as they move toward value-based care:

  • Participation in QPP and its scoring, or
  • Participation in an Advanced Alternative Payment Model (APM).

The majority of Medicare payments are still tied to fee-for-service, but HHS has set a goal of moving to 50 percent of Medicare payments for alternative payment models by 2018. For previous coverage of QPP proposals, visit our summary here.

The 2018 Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule addresses revised payment policies for the Medicare physician fee schedule. Any provisions in the PFS rule typically apply to fee-for-service type providers.
Continue Reading New Reimbursement for Remote Patient Monitoring and Telemedicine

On June 23, Crowell & Moring and Accenture co-hosted the Fostering Innovative Digital Health Strategies Conference in Crowell’s D.C. office. The conference provided a broad analysis of the business and legal issues that must be addressed as health care organizations and technology companies consider innovative strategies to use digital health technologies. The conference covered several topics including trends in the health care economy’s Internet of Things, setting up digital health platforms, legislative activity related to telehealth, and the use of digital health technology to support new payment models.

The fifth session of the conference, “New Payment Models and New Sources of Data for Care Coordination and Quality Improvement” featured John Brennan (Partner, Crowell & Moring), Dr. Elizabeth Raitz-Cowboy (Southeast Medical Director, Aetna Life Insurance Company), Barbara Ryland (Senior Counsel, Crowell & Moring), and Soph Sophocles (Associate General Counsel, Biogen).

The discussion addressed changes and themes in the wake of digital health technology and growing use of data. Key takeaways from the session:Continue Reading New Payment Models and Data: Changes and Themes to Watch

Last week, Democrats and Republicans from both chambers introduced the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act (S. 2484, H.R. 4442), which would improve health care quality and realize cost savings by eliminating current restrictions on telehealth and remote patient monitoring. Click here to read our