Provider adoption of telehealth services prior to the COVID-19 pandemic was very low due to legacy legislative and regulatory restrictions on coverage and payment of services. As policymakers removed these constraints on payment during the PHE, adoption skyrocketed. In order to prepare for any future pandemic, sustained adoption of telehealth is needed. Therefore, it is the opinion of the members of this Think Tank that permanent policy changes that allow broad coverage and payment of telehealth services, as well as, cross-state licensing reforms are essential to incentivize providers to continue to invest in national telehealth and telecommunications infrastructure. Policies that enable coverage and payment parity for telehealth services should be implemented in the short term beyond the public health emergency to allow sufficient time for adoption of telehealth services to become sustainable and data collection from which to base payment policy changes in the future.
Building national infrastructure for providers to deliver telehealth services will also provide the necessary framework to keep businesses in operation, provide distance education, and for other purposes during any future pandemic. Furthermore, a national infrastructure will foster healthcare and digital equity and transformation of the healthcare system from fee-for-service to value-based care.
Topic Areas as Related to Policy, Legal, and Regulatory Considerations During a Pandemic
C. Mapping Topic Areas to Policy, Legal & Regulatory Considerations During a Pandemic
Acknowledgements
The Center for Connected Health Policy provided source materials and feedback for the policy section in this Plan.
Disclaimer: This publication was made possible by grant number GA5RH37463 from the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth, Health Resources and Services Administration, DHHS. For more information regarding this publication, or to learn more about Telehealth, please contact TTAC at www.telehealthtechnology.org, or your regional Telehealth Resource Center or the National Policy Telehealth Resource Center. The twelve regional and two national Telehealth Resource Centers (TRCs) provide assistance, education, and information to organizations and individuals who are actively providing or interested in providing health are at a distance. You can find your regional or national Telehealth Resource Center through the National Consortium of Telehealth Resource Centers (NCTRC), which is comprised of all fourteen Telehealth Resource Centers. The NCTRC website is: www.telehealthresourcecenter.org.