Telehealth Will Be Free, No Copays, They Said. But Angry Patients Are Getting Billed.
Politicians pledged to stop providers from charging for video appointments or telephone calls, but some patients are being charged $70 or $80 per virtual visit.
Telemedicine
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Vaping, Opioid Addiction Accelerate Coronavirus Risks, Says NIDA Director
Dr. Nora Volkow, who heads the National Institute on Drug Abuse, details how emerging science points to added challenges for these patient populations and the public health system.
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Coronavirus Crisis Opens Access To Online Opioid Addiction Treatment
Under the national emergency, the government has waived a law that required patients to have an in-person visit with a physician before they could be prescribed drugs that help quell withdrawal symptoms, such as Suboxone. Now they can get those prescriptions via a phone call or videoconference with a doctor. That may give video addiction therapy a kick-start.
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Coronavirus Fuels Explosive Growth In Telehealth ― And Concern About Fraud
“Unscrupulous providers” could take advantage of the boom in treatment delivered via voice or video calls.
By Fred Schulte -
Dispatch From A Country Doctor: Seeing Patients Differently In The Time Of Coronavirus
Emergency rule changes by the federal government and some insurers have made telemedicine a useful tool.
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KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: All Coronavirus All The Time
The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing changes to the U.S. health system that were previously unthinkable. Yet some fights ― including over the Affordable Care Act and abortion — persist even in this time of national emergency. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, Rovner interviews KHN’s Liz Szabo about the latest installment of KHN-NPR’s “Bill of the Month.”
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Telemedicine Surges, Fueled By Coronavirus Fears And Shift In Payment Rules
Millions of Americans are suddenly seeking care by connecting with a doctor electronically. Helping drive that trend, medical providers can now charge as much as they would for an office visit.
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Medicare Fraudsters Now Tap Telemedicine In Medical Equipment Scams
Scammers bent on defrauding Medicare are embracing the new technologies of remote diagnosis. Federal law enforcement is cracking down.
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Analysis: Why Alexa’s Bedside Manner Is Bad For Health Care
Amazon's personal assistant is gaining medical skills to provide coaching or transmit and monitor patient data. Besides the loss of the human touch, virtual medicine pursued in the name of business efficiency or profit bodes ill.
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Doctors Give Medicare’s Proposal To Pay For Telemedicine Poor Prognosis
Federal officials are proposing that Medicare pay doctors for a 10-minute “check-in” call with beneficiaries. But many doctors already do this for free, and the plan would require a cost-sharing charge of many patients.
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Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Ask Us Anything!
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Joanne Kenen of Politico answer listeners’ questions about health policy and politics.
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Hoping To See Your Doctor Via Telemedicine? Here’s A Quick Guide.
All private health plans, Medicare, state Medicaid programs and the VA now cover some e-visits — albeit with restrictions.
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Telemedicine Opening Doors To Specialty Care For Inmates
Getting prisoners to a medical facility can be difficult, so corrections officials are increasingly setting up telemedicine programs for specialized needs, such as psychiatric, cancer and cardiac care.
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Tele-Monitoring Can Reduce Medical Appointments For Low-Risk Pregnancies
In a program called OB Nest, Mayo has been using a telemedicine program in its obstetrics clinic in Rochester, Minn., that allows low-risk expectant mothers to forego some standard prenatal visits.
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Reducing Red Tape For Traveling Nurses
A multistate nursing agreement allows nurses to work in numerous states without the hassle and expense of obtaining licenses in each one. More than half of states have signed onto an upgraded version of the agreement — but not California.
By Anna Gorman -
Telemedicine For Addiction Treatment? Picture Remains Fuzzy
One Indiana addiction specialist doesn't shy away from telemedicine, but he still requires in-person visits to begin and maintain his patients' Suboxone prescriptions.
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Are Virtual Doctor Visits Really Cost-Effective? Not So Much, Study Says
Rand Corp. finds that telehealth encourages patients to seek care for minor illnesses they wouldn’t bother to make an office visit for, raising overall health costs.
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Video Chat? In Rural Areas Combating Drug Addiction, A New Way To Connect With Help
The federal government is supporting efforts to test whether telemedicine strategies can be used to treat Appalachia’s painkiller addiction crisis.
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With Chronic Illness, You Are Your Own Best Friend
Participants in a mostly online diabetes self-management program had lower blood sugar and were more likely to take their medicine regularly, study finds.
By Anna Gorman -
Study: Doctors’ Texts Can Prod Patients To Take Drugs, But Questions Linger
In an analysis published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers found that text message reminders help patients do better when it comes to taking their medicines. But questions about the specific ways to make the most of this strategy remain.