On May 10, 2023, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) released a new regulation – “Temporary Extension of COVID-19 Telemedicine Flexibilities for Prescription of Controlled Medications” – temporarily extending the “full set” of...more
On March 1, 2023, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) officially published proposed rules for prescribing controlled substances via telemedicine after the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency expires. The DEA gave the public a 30...more
Continued access to telehealth services, particularly as it relates to medication assisted treatment (MAT) for substance use disorder (SUD), enjoys strong support among patients and clinicians, yet laws continue to trail...more
What is the Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act?
The Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act would establish a two-year extension for certain COVID-19 emergency telehealth waivers. The legislation aims to extend the...more
2/15/2022
/ Beneficiaries ,
CARES Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Extensions ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicare ,
New Legislation ,
Ryan Haight Act ,
State Legislatures ,
Telehealth ,
Waivers
Three times as many consumers say they plan on continuing to use telehealth services, and more than half of providers view it more favorably now than before.
As telemedicine companies stepped up during the COVID-19...more
Continuing the trend of expanded Medicare reimbursement for remote monitoring, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the 2022 Physician Fee Schedule final rule on its new Remote Therapeutic Monitoring...more
During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. has experienced a troubling rise in alcohol consumption with parallels to an increased number of individuals struggling with alcohol use disorder (AUD). Enter a new wave of...more
...On July 13, 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released an advance copy of the calendar year (CY) 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) proposed payment rule, to be published on July 23, 2021....more
Florida’s telehealth emergency waivers ended on June 26, 2021, after Governor Ron DeSantis’ Office allowed the waivers to expire. The waivers were originally contained in Emergency Orders 20-002 and 20-003. On July 1, 2021,...more
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, federal agencies have sought to allow health care companies more flexibility to use popular technology and applications to better engage with their patients. One example is the Department of...more
Companies who feel the Public Health Emergency (PHE) waivers and exceptions have rendered telemedicine “immune” from compliance oversight might be surprised to learn what federal regulators have in the works. The Office of...more
3/1/2021
/ Audits ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Fraud ,
Home Health Agencies ,
Home Health Care ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part B ,
Mental Health ,
OIG ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine ,
Waivers
For years, Foley has monitored legal policy in the telemedicine and digital health industry, following how advances in technology have coupled with improved state regulations to supercharge the growth of telehealth and...more
With 2020 officially behind us, what does 2021 have in store for telemedicine and digital health policy? A year ago, our team predicted 2020 would bring “notable expansions in Medicare and Medicaid coverage” and “the...more
1/12/2021
/ American Telemedicine Association ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Health ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
OIG ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) ,
Reimbursements ,
Telehealth ,
Waivers
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) just released its 2021 Final Rule (Physician Fee Schedule), with telehealth policy changes and a list of new services covered under Medicare. Actions taken by CMS during...more
12/3/2020
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Final Rules ,
HCPCS ,
Medicare ,
Mental Health ,
Nursing Homes ,
Physician Fee Schedule ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Reimbursements ,
Secretary of HHS ,
Telehealth
On October 14, 2020, CMS added eleven new codes to the list of telehealth services covered by Medicare during to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE). Coverage for these new services is effective immediately and will...more
The American Telemedicine Association (ATA) issued a policy comment letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), advocating for telehealth-friendly changes to Medicare’s telehealth coverage and...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently issued its proposed 2021 Physician Fee Schedule rule, enumerating the services CMS proposes to add (and remove) from the list of telehealth services covered under...more
On August 3, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the advance copy of its proposed 2021 Physician Fee Schedule rule, which contains new telehealth services covered under Medicare. Compared to...more