Health Care

On June 29, 2015, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published a policy statement supporting the use of telemedicine in the practice of pediatrics as long as telemedicine technologies are used “in support of and integrated with” the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) – not in place of it.

On July 7th, the House introduced much anticipated bipartisan telehealth legislation.

For some health care providers, a pair of recent announcements made by the Obama Administration to implement mandatory alternative payment models (APMs) for home health value-based purchasing and bundled payments for hip and knee episodes of care will come as a shock.

Health care is big business in Massachusetts, and it is a highly regulated business. But Governor Charlie Baker hopes to simplify the Massachusetts regulatory regime.

On Monday, during the annual meeting of the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates, the delegates voted to table a proposed measure to adopt ethical guidelines for physicians who provide telemedicine services.

Late last week, Texas telemedicine practitioners received a temporary reprieve from a new regulation issued by the Texas Medical Board (the “Board”) when a Texas federal court prohibited implementation of the new rule that would have prevented prescribing via telemedicine. 

Yesterday, ML Strategies posted its Health Care Update and Telehealth Policy Alert. This publication provides timely information for those who are already in, or contemplating entering, the telehealth space.

Earlier this week, ML Strategies posted its weekly Health Care Update which provided timely information on implementation of the Affordable Care Act, Congressional initiatives affecting the health care industry, and federal and state health regulatory developments.

On May 13, 2015, the House Energy and Commerce Committee released the latest draft of its 21st Century Cures Legislation.

This is the fourth and final post in our series on the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). Pub.L. No. 114-10. We’ve previously covered the repeal of the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) in our April 20th post, payment provisions and offsets in our April 21st post, and provisions relating to program integrity and fraud and abuse in our April 23rd post.

On March 19th, Representative Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) unveiled a bipartisan plan to repeal and replace the sustainable growth rate (SGR) physician payment system for physician reimbursement under Medicare.

In a highly anticipated announcement on Tuesday, March 10, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released details for a new Accountable Care Organization (ACO) program called the Next Generation ACO (NGACO). 

Last week, the Florida Senate Health Policy Committee removed language from proposed telehealth legislation that would require Medicaid reimbursement for telemedicine services at the same rates as face-to-face examinations.

Last week, the Texas Medical Board issued a proposed rule (the “Rule”) clarifying that physicians must perform a face-to-face or in-person physical examination of a patient prior to issuing a prescription or risk sanctions for unprofessional conduct.

ML Strategies has posted its weekly Health Care Update. This publication provides timely information on implementation of the Affordable Care Act, Congressional initiatives affecting the health care industry, and federal and state health regulatory developments.

New York became the 22nd state to sign into law legislation that will require commercial and Medicaid plans to provide coverage of telehealth and telemedicine services. The law, originally intended to take effect on January 1, 2015, will become effective on January 1, 2016.

Although health care reform implementation via the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has focused mostly on federal changes to the health care marketplace, individual States are getting some much needed help to design and implement their own efforts to improve quality and lower health system costs.

The American Telemedicine Association (ATA) is now accepting limited registrations for organizations that wish to gain ATA’s seal of approval for online medical services.

ML Strategies has posted its weekly Health Care Update. This publication provides timely information on implementation of the Affordable Care Act, Congressional initiatives affecting the health care industry, and federal and state health regulatory developments.

ML Strategies has posted its weekly Health Care Update.  This publication provides timely information on implementation of the Affordable Care Act, Congressional initiatives affecting the health care industry, and federal and state health regulatory developments.