Legal and practical healthcare information.
The future of healthcare once seemed like science fiction—think of The Jetsons, the iconic 1960s animated show where families communicate via video calls and receive virtual checkups. But today, telehealth has rapidly become a reality, thanks to technological advances and broadband expansion. However, key funding mechanisms are now under scrutiny, raising questions about whether this …
Continue reading “Are We Living in The Jetsons’ Future? Telehealth, Broadband, and Policy Shifts”
Previously published in Healthcare News and Healthcare Michigan Introduction On December 13, 2024, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced significant updates to its Mapping Broadband Health in America platform. This enhanced tool, now incorporating a range of new health metrics, aims to provide deeper insights into the connection between expanding broadband connectivity and critical health outcomes, with a particular focus on …
Continue reading “FCC Updates Broadband Map to Highlight Health Disparities”
Prior to the COVID-19 public health emergency (“PHE”), the federal Ryan Haight Act allowed a provider to prescribe controlled substance medications to a patient only after conducting an in-person evaluation of that patient (with limited exceptions). At the beginning of the PHE, the Drug Enforcement Agency (“DEA”) granted temporary exceptions to the in-person requirement and …
Continue reading “Telehealth Update: Controlled Substances & E/M Claims”
Reversing previously proposed rules, the DEA recently issued new guidance allowing the continued use of telehealth when prescribing controlled substances following the end of the Covid-19 public health emergency (“PHE”). Waivers of the requirement for in-person encounters that were in place during the PHE will remain in effect for practitioner-patient telehealth relationships established as of …
Continue reading “DEA Reverses Course and Extends Telehealth Prescriptions of Controlled Substances”
The current Public Health Emergency expiration deadline is this month. However, the Secretary of the Health and Human Services indicated he would provide a 60-day notice before ending the PHE in order to minimize disruptions and potential loss of government and private insurance coverage. That notice has not yet occurred. Therefore, we expect another 90 …
Continue reading “Telehealth Update: Telehealth Waivers Post-PHE and Fraud and Abuse”
On June 22, 2022, via the Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) released its “Telehealth and Substance Use Disorder Services in the Era of COVID-19: Review and Recommendations” (Guidance). While this publication does not have the force of law, it is clear direction to legislators …
Continue reading “White House issues recommendations on telehealth and SUD services – Part II”
In June 2022, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), via the Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association, released its “Telehealth and Substance Use Disorder Services in the Era of COVID-19: Review and Recommendations” (the “SUD Recommendations”). Although this publication does not have the force of law, it provides clear directions to …
Continue reading “White House Issues Recommendations on Telehealth and SUD services”
The Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) recently announced guidelines for the application of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) to audio-only telehealth encounters following the end of the declaration of the COVID-19 public health emergency (“PHE”). As reported here at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the HHS Office …
Continue reading “Post-Pandemic HIPAA Guidelines for Audio-Only Telehealth”
The Department of Justice recently released their Year in Review summary of activity by the Healthcare Fraud Unit, detailing enforcements efforts related to some of the more significant telehealth-related fraud claims in 2021. The DOJ’s litigation unit significantly expanded last year to support the Fraud Unit, resulting in material criminal prosecutions and sentences. Since 2019, …
As anticipated, the federal government has been monitoring the potential for fraud and abuse involving telehealth. Providers, lab owners, and medical equipment companies have been recent targets of investigations. The government’s attention has focused on claims related to durable medical equipment and lab testing. In September, the Department of Justice announced a nationwide enforcement action …