CMS Waiver Updates
- Paul Arias
- Mar 24, 2023
- 2 min read
A few Highlights - click the link above for all of the details
Telehealth:
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, extended many telehealth flexibilities through December 31, 2024, such as:
People with Medicare can access telehealth services in any geographic area in the United States, rather than only those in rural areas.
People with Medicare can stay in their homes for telehealth visits that Medicare pays for rather than traveling to a health care facility.
Certain telehealth visits can be delivered audio-only (such as a telephone) if someone is unable to use both audio and video, such as a smartphone or computer.
Hospital at Home:
In response to the challenges faced by hospitals because of COVID-19, CMS implemented the Acute Hospital Care at Home initiative, a flexibility to allow hospitals to expand their capacity to provide inpatient care in an individual’s home. Many hospitals and individuals participated in this initiative – there is broad geographic distribution of hospitals participating, ranging in size and services from small rural settings to large academic settings. The number of approved hospitals in each state varies. Under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, the Acute Hospital Care at Home initiative has been extended through December 31, 2024. Hospitals can continue to apply to participate in the initiative. If an individual is receiving care in a participating hospital and meets the requirements to receive inpatient care at home, they can continue to do so.
Virtual Supervision:
To allow more people to receive care during the PHE, CMS temporarily changed the definition of “direct supervision” to allow the supervising health care professional to be immediately available through virtual presence using real-time audio/video technology instead of requiring their physical presence. CMS also clarified that the temporary exception to allow immediate availability for direct supervision through virtual presence also facilitates the provision of telehealth services by clinical staff “incident to” the professional services of physicians and other practitioners. This flexibility will expire on December 31, 2023.
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