The temporary telehealth reforms put in place to help the U.S. weather the COVID-19 storm “are good for patients and should be made permanent.” On this a public policy think tank on the left and a political advocacy group identified with the right are in bold, unqualified agreement.
Arielle Kane, director of healthcare for the Progressive Policy Institute, and Dean Clancy, senior health policy fellow with the libertarian-conservative Americans for Prosperity, made their unity known in a document they wrote together this summer.
The work seems to be getting renewed attention online, possibly owing to the pending presidency of Joe Biden.
Among the specific policies Kane and Clancy recommend Congress make permanent are those that currently allow patients to use telehealth outside of rural areas and at home, along with those that now allow providers to
- deliver care to both new and established patients,
- practice across state lines and
- use store-and-forward technologies where medically appropriate.
The co-authors also call for lowering current payments for telehealth, as Medicare is currently reimbursing healthcare providers for telehealth services as if provided in-person.
“This makes sense during a public health crisis where the goal is to encourage telehealth use, but at other time there’s little reason to peg remote rates to in-person rates,” they write. “Part of the promise of telehealth is that it can reduce costs.”
If telehealth is to fulfill its broader promise to improve life for many patients, “payers and policymakers must act,” Kane and Clancy conclude. “They must break down the regulatory and legal barriers that stand in the way of affordable, widespread access to telehealth. This is not a left-right issue. Our organizations stand together, ready to help America realize the promise of telehealth beyond the emergency.”
Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.