April 17, 2018

Federal Telehealth Policies Summary

Holland & Knight Alert
Miranda A. Franco
The wide-reaching Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (BBA) enacts major changes for telehealth policy in Medicare by incorporating policies from the Senate's Creating High-Quality Results and Outcomes Necessary to Improve Chronic (CHRONIC) Care Act. These policy changes from the CHRONIC Care Act represent the most significant legislative advances for Medicare's telehealth policy in several years.

Building on those changes, a bill is expected to be drafted in the House Committee on Ways and Means seeking to widen telemedicine coverage under Medicare to help reduce unnecessary hospital visits by Medicare patients. The legislation would expand the coverage of telehealth services under Medicare with the goal of reducing expensive, unnecessary hospital visits.

In this memorandum, Holland & Knight provides a detailed overview of the 2018 congressional and regulatory developments around telehealth.

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