News Archive

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services dropped its physician fee schedule for next year. It would bolster coverage of telehealth visits for behavioral health and vaccine payments, but would also reduce the conversion factor used to calculate fee-for-service payments. For full report see 

 https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection/2021-23972/medicare-program-cy-2022-payment-policies-under-the-physician-fee-schedule-and-other-changes-to-part

WCB approves the third group of funding commitments under Round 2 of the COVID-19 Telehealth Program and commits $40.46 million in funding to 71 health care providers across the Nation

The Center for Care Innovations has refreshed its Telemedicine for Health Equity Toolkit. This toolkit includes new evidence about equity in telemedicine among diverse patient populations. It also includes additional resources and guidance documents.

The Biden Administration is awarding nearly $1 billion in American Rescue Plan funding through the HRSA to about 1,300 health centers across the country for capital improvements, including telehealth expansion.

The American Board of Telehealth (ABT) and the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) are partnering to expand access to telehealth education and training. The American Board of Telehealth offers high-quality, evidence-based education in the practice of telehealth to ensure best practices for implementing and using telemedicine across the care continuum.

A Pacific Northwest payer is expanding its telehealth platform in hopes that its 3 million members will get the health and wellness checkups they’ve skipped during the pandemic.

Regence has unveiled Virtual Primary Care, aimed at self-funded members in Washington, Oregon, Utah and Idaho. The platform, managed by telehealth provider MDLIVE, allows members to connect online with a primary care provider for virtual visits.