Wednesday, August 05, 2020

Trump orders agencies to form a task force to find ways within 30 days to improve rural health-care access

President Trump signed an order Monday aimed at improving rural Americans' access to health care. It directs the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Federal Communications Commission and a few other agencies to form a task force to identify and implement ways to overcome barriers rural Americans face in accessing care, within the next 30 days, Larry Lee reports for Brownfield Ag News.

The order also calls on HHS to develop a new pilot payment model for rural hospitals, and also extend expanded coverage of telehealth services for Medicare patients beyond the pandemic, Elise Reuter reports for MedCity News.

"Prior to the pandemic, Medicare had several restrictions in place for virtual visits. Telehealth visits were only covered for patients in rural communities, and they still had to take place in a doctor’s office, hospital, or other health facility. The number of covered services was also limited," Reuter reports. "Since the start of the covid-19 pandemic, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has waived those restrictions, allowing Medicare to cover 135 new services over telehealth, such as physical therapy or mental health services."

No comments: