Further detail on Healthcare Reimbursement in the USA
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Home healthcare reimbursements were first authorised in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. From this it follows that Medicare (US healthcare provider) does reimburse some telemedicine applications but “this reimbursement only covers geographic areas with a shortage of health professionals,” and is only for “teleconsultations provided in real time and does not make provision for store-and-forward consultations, in which information is gathered and stored for a physician to evaluate at a later time". This was improved upon in 2000 with the Benefits Improvement and Protection Act which in essence increased the scope of eligible medical practices and eliminated the need for ‘telepresenter’ which was part of the 1997 act. The assumption here has been that the service is being provided to a Healthcare Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) and the service is aimed at rural areas where clinical support is scarce. In July 2008 the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act [1] whose function was to further increase the scope of the Medicare coverage (including mental health and dialysis centers), passed both houses of Congress but on July 15th was vetoed by President Bush. However later that day, the Congress overrode the veto and the bill finally passed in to law. The law formally went in to effect on January 2009.
The Medicare Telehealth Enhancement Act of 2008 [2] removes current geographic restrictions on the provision of such services. It also adds to the types of facilities authorized to participate in the telehealth program. It also directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to encourage and facilitate the adoption of state reciprocity agreements for practitioner licensure in order to expedite the provision of telehealth services across state lines. The latest Major Action: 6/2/2008: on this bill is “Referred to House subcommittee on Health.”
References
- ↑ Kinsella A. Home Telehealthcare: Process, Policy, & Procedure Sunriver, OR: Information for Tomorrow, 2003
- ↑ http://www.americantelemed.org/files/public/policy/LegislativeAlert_29May2008.pdf
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