CMS
NEWS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 23, 2020
Contact: CMS Media Relations (202) 690-6145 | CMS
Media Inquiries
Trump
Administration Releases COVID-19 Telehealth Toolkit to Accelerate State Use
of Telehealth in Medicaid and CHIP
Toolkit
will help states identify and address barriers to telehealth coverage
during emergency
Today, the Trump Administration
released a new toolkit for states to help accelerate adoption of broader telehealth
coverage policies in the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Programs
(CHIP) during the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This
release builds on the agency’s swift actions to provide states with a wide
range of tools and guidance to support their ability to care for their
Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries during this public health emergency.
Ensuring that patients can safely
receive the care they need at home minimizes travel to healthcare
facilities and supports efforts to limit community spread of the virus.
Under President Trump’s leadership, CMS has taken numerous steps to ensure
that Americans can access the health care services they need through
electronic and virtual means. Swift actions in Medicare have ensured
that the nation’s health coverage program for seniors is able to pay for
telehealth services delivered nationwide and in any setting, with recent
steps expanding Medicare payment for 80 additional telehealth services.
Building on those actions, CMS is
providing this toolkit for states to take similar steps. Medicaid and CHIP
programs are jointly administered by the state and federal governments, and
together provide health coverage for over 71 million Americans, including
35 million children. Coverage and payment policies vary by state
within federal parameters, and this toolkit will help states identify policies
which may impede the rapid deployment of telehealth when providing
care. States enjoy broad federal flexibility to cover telehealth
through Medicaid, including which methods of communication (such as
telephonic, video technology commonly available on smart phones and other
devices) a state may use.
“While not all patient interactions
can be delivered through telehealth, our clinicians on the frontlines need
every tool in their arsenal to fight this invisible enemy,” said CMS
Administrator Seema Verma. “I’m urging states to use this toolkit to make
sure our Medicaid patients, particularly our children, can continue to
receive needed care from the safety of their homes.”
This toolkit provides states with
issues to consider as they evaluate the need to expand their telehealth
capabilities and coverage policies, including:
·
Patient
populations eligible for telehealth: Federal rules allow Medicaid services
to be delivered via telehealth across all populations. The toolkit will
help states identify restrictions on telehealth eligibility, like only
allowing coverage for beneficiaries who live in rural areas.
·
Coverage
and reimbursement policies: While
telehealth may not be appropriate for all services, states should review
services even if they have not traditionally been delivered in such a
manner. For example, some states may have only allowed behavioral health
services to be delivered through telehealth. Medicaid reimbursement rates
also need to be adequate to facilitate care delivered through telehealth.
Not all states have provided reimbursement parity with face to face
encounters.
·
Providers
and practitioners eligible to provide telehealth: The toolkit will help states to
evaluate whether state practice acts or regulations limit the ability for
certain providers to deliver services through telehealth.
·
Technology
requirements: The
dominant form of telehealth is generally thought of as two-way audio/visual
communication, or a video chat. However, telehealth is much broader than
this since other forms have always existed alongside what some people
consider standard telehealth, such as remote patient monitoring, etc.
·
Pediatric
considerations: Given
the importance of Medicaid and CHIP to the pediatric population, the
toolkit includes a special focus on this group. For example, states should
consider state consent and privacy laws in the development of telehealth
coverage policies for children.
The toolkit also includes a compilation of
frequently asked questions (FAQs) and other resources available to states.
This toolkit is the latest in a series of tools
and checklists that CMS has released to help provide states emergency
flexibilities and resources that they need during the during the 2019 Novel
Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
This release and earlier CMS actions
in response to the COVID-19 virus, are all part of ongoing White House
Coronavirus Task Force efforts. To keep up with the important work the Task
Force is doing in response to COVID-19, click here www.coronavirus.gov.
For a complete and updated list of CMS actions, guidance, and
other information in response to the COVID-19 virus, please visit the,
please visit the Current Emergencies Website.
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