Organizations asking Congress to boost support for mHealth

By
Dusan Belic
-
Congress
President Barack Obama delivers a health care address to a joint session of Congress at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., Sept. 9, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson) This official White House photograph is being made available only for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House.

A group of organizations is urging Congress to allow more reimbursement for mHealth, arguing that telemedicine and remote patient monitoring can propel the nation’s healthcare landscape closer to its achieved goal of value-based care.

In a letter to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin G. Hatch, R-Utah, and Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., about a dozen organizations are asking for approval of the so called “bridge” legislation that would allow providers to use telemedicine during the transition period as the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) is put into effect and accountable care organizations (ACOs) transition to risk-based models.

The groups say that Medicare’s current reimbursement strategy for telemedicine it “outdated” and limited, and is calling on Congress to allow providers be reimbursed for remote patient monitoring technology for patients with chronic conditions through at least 2021.

“Connected care technologies like telemedicine and remote patient monitoring are an investment that will help actualize the vision embedded in these transformative programs and deliver on the promise of value over volume in healthcare,” the letter reads.

The groups say that Medicare’s current reimbursement strategy for telemedicine it “outdated” and limited.The groups pointed out that several studies have shown ways that technology can help avoid hospital or urgent care visits and readmissions, and that the “clinical practice improvement activities” included in MACRA’s Merit-based Incentives Payment System (MIPS) call for expanded access, care coordination and population health management. Also, they add that nearly half of all consumers and almost 80 percent of physicians already use mobile devices, so it’s a natural path to improve care.

The letter is signed by the AARP, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness, the American Academy of Physician Assistants, the American Osteopathic Association, the National Association of ACOs, the Alliance for Aging Research, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the National Council for Behavioral Health, the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, the National Association for the Support of Long Term Care and Stanford Health Care.

[Via: mHealthNews]

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