barnright.blogg.se - Homestate health virtual health

BackgroundĬoncerns about health care access and costs have increased state officials’ interest in programs to support telehealth services in the home, workplace, or other nonclinical settings. This brief is based on a report developed for the Medicaid Evidence-based Decisions Project (MED), a research collaboration of 21 state Medicaid programs based at the Center for Evidence-based Policy at Oregon Health and Science University.

The brief reviews state Medicaid, Medicare, and private payer policies on home-based telehealth and draws on interviews with policymakers from two Medicaid agencies, two individuals from health care organizations that implemented telehealth programs for patients at home, and a medical officer from a managed care organization (MCO) that offers virtual visits to all of its members.

Commercial coverage varies based on state laws and how they use third-party vendors.

Medicare generally does not cover telehealth in the home, but is incrementally covering telehealth services in certain circumstances.

State Medicaid programs usually reimburse telehealth-delivered services and in-person clinical and primary care–delivered services equally.

State Medicaid programs require home-based telehealth services to meet the same standard of care as in-person visits, including patient privacy and provider scope of practice.

State Medicaid programs cover home-based telehealth through a variety of approaches.

Payers with established telehealth programs employ approaches that are consistent with their organizational goals and resources.

This brief identifies key findings for state officials considering such policies, as follows: As a result, state agencies are developing new policies for home-based telehealth services with little evidence to guide them.

The rate of telehealth use, in which patients receive a virtual health care visit in the home or other nonclinical setting, has outpaced the release of research about this model of care.