Telemedicine has become an increasingly important part of the healthcare delivery landscape. Since the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) have repeatedly issued regulatory flexibilities to allow Medicare to cover certain services provided in whole or in part by telemedicine. One of…
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) recently filed its first criminal drug distribution prosecutions related to telemedicine prescribing through a digital health company. The indictments accused Done Global, Inc., its founder and CEO, its clinical president, and several other persons associated with the company of participating in a scheme to…
The use of telemedicine for patient care exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic. While telemedicine services were generally a limited and niche practice prior to the pandemic, social distancing measures, lock-downs, and fear of spreading the disease combined with a desire for widespread testing for the disease created a tremendous need…
Earlier this month, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a concept paper that outlines the Department’s cybersecurity strategy for the healthcare sector. The concept paper builds on the Biden Administration’s National Cybersecurity Strategy, specifically focusing on strengthening resilience for hospitals, patients, and communities threatened by cyber-attacks. The…
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently issued the final rule for the physician fee schedule (PFS) for calendar year (CY) 2024, which implements new evaluation and management (E/M) policies and solidifies certain existing telehealth policies. In the final rule, CMS reduced overall payment rates under the PFS…
On July 13, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service (CMS) released the Calendar Year 2024 Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule, proposing to extend remote supervision. The proposed rule continues to define “direct supervision” by allowing supervising physicians and practitioners the ability to continue “direct supervision” through real-time audio…
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently released a toolkit regarding analysis of telehealth claims to assess program integrity risks. Use of telehealth services exploded during the pandemic, with Medicare beneficiaries in particular using 88 times more telehealth services in the…
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) recently announced that it will implement an Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) system to validate in-home visits for Medicaid recipients. MDHHS plans to begin the transition to the EVV system in early 2024. Michigan’s transition to an EVV system was precipitated by…
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced the coming end of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) and has provided guidance on the phase-out of PHE 1135 Waivers. HHS announced that the PHE will expire on May 11, 2023, which will trigger the planned transition and…
As the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) gets extended yet again and while the healthcare industry continues to grapple with the numerous changes and developments over the past several years, providers should gear up for an uncertain landscape in 2023. Between the massive influx of providers implementing telehealth services and…