Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Greater Telehealth Flexibility For Medicare Providers To Become Permanent, CMS Says
Modern Healthcare: CMS: Permanent Telehealth Changes Coming To Home Health
CMS wants to make permanent changes to telehealth flexibilities for home health providers, the agency said Thursday. The Trump administration loosened telehealth restrictions for home health providers during the COVID-19 pandemic but now wants them to go beyond the public health emergency. According to the proposed rule, CMS is looking to bump pay for home health providers by 2.6% overall, or about $540 million. (Brady, 6/25)
Modern Healthcare: CMS Extends Medicare Care Choices Model For One Year
CMS' Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation announced Thursday it will extend by one year its pilot program that allows hospices to bill for routine home care as well as end-of-life services under Medicare. The Medicare Care Choices Model, which started in 2016, was set to conclude at the end of this year but the extension allows hospices to enroll beneficiaries to the program until June 30, 2021 and it will now conclude on December 31, 2021. (Castellucci, 6/25)
