Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Medical Providers Get Greenlight To Expand Telehealth Across State Lines
Modern Healthcare: HHS Boosts Telehealth Across State Lines, COVID-19 Liability Protection
The Trump administration on Thursday increased access to COVID-19 telehealth services and made it easier for providers to get liability protection for coronavirus-related medical countermeasures. HHS allowed healthcare professionals using telehealth to order COVID-19 diagnostic testing and other countermeasures for patients outside the state where they're already allowed to practice. According to the department, HHS' new policy overrides any state law that bans, or effectively bans, out-of-state healthcare professionals from delivering coronavirus-related medical countermeasures. (Brady, 12/3)
Modern Healthcare: Next Steps For Telehealth Require Congressional Action, Experts Say
Telehealth advocates are homing in on the next big challenge to solidify virtual care's gains during the COVID-19 pandemic: urging congressional action. "That's really our No. 1 federal priority," said Kyle Zebley, director of public policy at the American Telemedicine Association. The latest Medicare physician fee schedule, released earlier this week, offers a powerful step forward for telehealth by adding more than 60 services to the list of telehealth services that Medicare will pay for in 2021. But experts noted that without new legislation, CMS' efforts to expand video-based telehealth will continue to be stifled by restrictions outside the agency's control. (Kim Cohen, 12/3)
Stat: Ex-Uber Health Exec Launches Startup To Bridge Telehealth And Home Care
Telemedicine has become a lifeline during the Covid-19 pandemic, but it is not enough help for many patients whose medical needs demand in-person care. It is that yawning gap in service that ex-Uber Health leader Dan Trigub and partner Inna Plumb are targeting with a new company called MedArrive, which was launched out of stealth mode Thursday. (Ross, 12/3)
In other health care industry news —
The Wall Street Journal: Capital One CFO To Leave For Health-Insurance Startup
Capital One Financial Corp.’s finance chief is leaving the bank to take over the finance department at Oscar Health Insurance Corp., an insurance startup. McLean, Va.-based Capital One, which also offers credit cards, auto loans and savings accounts, on Thursday said Chief Financial Officer R. Scott Blackley resigned, effective March 1. He will take up his new post as the CFO of Oscar on March 16, the insurance provider said. (Maurer, 12/3)
KHN: Think Your Health Care Is Covered? Beware Of The ‘Junk’ Insurance Plan
Looking back, Sam Bloechl knows that when the health insurance broker who was helping him find a plan asked whether he’d ever been diagnosed with a major illness, that should have been a red flag. Preexisting medical conditions don’t matter when you buy a comprehensive individual plan that complies with the Affordable Care Act. Insurers can’t turn people down or charge them more based on their medical history. But Bloechl, now 31, didn’t know much about health insurance. So when the broker told him a UnitedHealthcare Golden Rule plan would cover him for a year for less than his marketplace plan — “Unless you like throwing money away, this is the plan you should buy,” he recalls the agent saying — he signed up. (Andres, 12/4)
