Telehealth

AARP recently released an article exploring the evolving landscape of telehealth within Medicare, spotlighting its transformation amid the COVID-19 pandemic. With telehealth adoption soaring to 40% among Medicare beneficiaries in 2020, the article accentuates the significance of audio-only visits and the imminent legislative choice regarding post-2024 coverage. AARP also discusses the importance of these virtual services in ensuring comprehensive healthcare access while addressing potential challenges like accessibility, cost implications, and concerns of misuse.

A new Policy Spotlight from the Aging and Disability Business Institute and the National Council on Aging provides an overview of how telehealth has changed as a result of the pandemic. The Policy Spotlight outlines the current challenges related to access to telehealth, identifies opportunities for the Aging Network and discusses legislative actions for expanding telehealth.

GAO analyzed state-reported data on telehealth use in six states selected, in part, based on variation in geography, Medicaid program size, and percentage of population living in rural areas. GAO reviewed federal oversight documents, interviewed state and federal Medicaid officials, and assessed CMS oversight against CMS guidance on using data to identify disparities in health care and target improvements. GAO is making two recommendations to CMS to (1) collect and analyze information about the effect delivering services via telehealth has on the quality of care Medicaid beneficiaries receive, and (2) determine any next steps based on the results of the analysis.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many providers to transition to telehealth when it became the only way patients could access health services. Medicaid agencies now have an opportunity to support phone-based telemedicine in primary care beyond the pandemic, and many are already doing so. This blog post explores strategies that Medicaid agencies can use to suport audio-only telehealth moving forward, including extending payment parity for telehealth visits and using value-based payment models.

This March 2022 News in Health issue explores various components of rural health in America. The issue explains how geography, access to care, and telehealth impact health outcomes for individuals in living in rural areas, and provides tips for how to build healthier communities.

Health care stakeholders can use this Playbook Collection to understand recent evidence behind telehealth-delivered interventions and learn about practical strategies to support effective implementation of these programs for people with complex needs.

This blog post by Edmondo J. Robinson, M.D., M.B.A., Peter J. Embí, M.D., M.S., Ramanathan Raju, M.D., M.B.A., and Yanling Yu, Ph.D. explores how social determinants of health have led to health inequity during the pandemic. Read the blog post to learn how health literacy and access to technology play a role in bridging the gap in health outcomes.

The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RERC) on Technologies to Support Aging-In-Place for People with Long-Term Disabilities (TechSAge RERC II) published a new tool titled "Guidelines for delivering telewellness programs to older adults with disabilities." This tool provides guidelines for designing telewellness classes for older adults with disabilities and touches on design elements, such as software selection, safety, class organization and logistics, time structure and more.

The Coverage to Care (C2C) patient resource released earlier this year, Telehealth: What to Know for Your Family, is now available in Arabic, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Korean, Russian, and Vietnamese, as well as English and Spanish. This resource helps patients learn about the types of care they can receive through telehealth, how to prepare for an appointment, and what to expect during a telehealth visit.

CMS released a new supplement to its State Medicaid & CHIP Telehealth Toolkit that provides new examples and insights into lessons learned from states that have implemented telehealth changes. The toolkit includes approaches and tools states can use to communicate with providers on utilizing telehealth. The toolkit includes updates and consolidates the FAQs and resources for states to consider as they begin planning beyond the temporary flexibilities provided in response to the pandemic.