Reimbursement

Following on from the Evidence Standards Framework for DHTs published in December 2018 (the Original Standards, as reported in our previous blog post, here), the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recently published a newly updated version of the standards (the Updated Standards…
Continue Reading UK’s NICE releases newly updated Digital Health Technologies (DHT) Evidence Standards Framework

The UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recently published an evidence standards framework for DHTs (the Standards), available here.  It did so through a working group led by NHS England, but supported by representatives from Public Health England, MedCity and DigitalHealth.London.

The Standards cover DHTs,…
Continue Reading NICE adopts evidence standards for the development and assessment of digital health technologies (DHTs)

In March, CMS issued a State Medicaid Directors Letter (SMDL) about the availability of enhanced federal funding for state Medicaid programs’ eligibility and enrollment (E&E) systems. This SMDL represents CMS’s most recent effort to encourage States to use commercial “off-the-shelf” technology and “software as a service,” instead of customized electronic systems developed and built specifically for individual States.
Continue Reading CMS Issues Guidance Encouraging the Use of Commercial Off-the-Shelf Technology and Software-as-a-Service for Medicaid Eligibility and Enrollment Systems

Earlier this week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized a rule implementing a provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that requires a Medicaid enrollee seeking coverage for home health services to first meet face-to-face with a practitioner.  The final rule confirms that the face-to-face encounter requirement “may occur through telehealth, as implemented by the State.” 42 C.F.R. § 440.70(f)(6).
Continue Reading New CMS Rule Permits Home Health Face-to-Face Encounters to Occur Through Telehealth Technology

Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) finalized new rules for the Electronic Health Records (EHR) meaningful use program.  In response to significant public criticism of the program, the final rulemaking offers some additional flexibility for complying with the program’s requirements.
Continue Reading CMS Issues New EHR Meaningful Use Rules

Last week, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved a bill that would ease federal requirements that professionals seeing patients at ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) “meaningfully use” certified electronic health records (EHRs). The measure would sunset after certified EHR technology is applicable to the ASC setting.
Continue Reading Senate Approves Bill to Ease Meaningful Use Requirements In Ambulatory Surgery Setting

* Jack Lund is a summer associate and student at the University of Virginia School of Law       

The “21st Century Cures Act” (Cures) cleared its first major hurdle last month when the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted unanimously in favor of the legislation.  Among other things, Cures helps to modernize Medicare by including mandatory interoperability for electronic health records (EHR), study of and support for telehealth, and the creation of a pharmaceutical and technology ombudsman.Continue Reading 21st Century Cures Act with EHR and Telehealth Provisions Passes Through Committee with Flying Colors

* Gabriel Kohan is a summer associate and student at Harvard Law School.        

States are continuing to debate the role telehealth services should play in the health care system. Thus far in 2015, several States have enacted parity laws requiring that certain telehealth services be reimbursed to the same extent as in-person services. While on the whole more states are moving toward parity and encouraging or requiring reimbursement for telemedicine, that trend is not universal, and many of the States with parity laws only extend parity to telehealth services that meet certain conditions.Continue Reading Several States Enact Telehealth Parity Laws in 2015