TELE-MED Act Introduced

The Health IT NOW Coalition’s blog announced that the “TELEmedicine for MEDicare” (TELE MED) Act was just introduced on Capitol Hill by Congressman Devin Nunes (R-CA) and Frank Pallone (D-NJ).The Act would allow Medicare providers to treat Medicare patients electronically across state lines without the need to obtain multiple state licenses.

“This bill updates the law to account for rapid technological advances in medicine,” said Congressman Nunes. “By reducing bureaucratic and legal barriers between Medicare patients and their doctors, it expands medical access and choice for America’s seniors and the disabled.”

Joel White, Executive Director of the Health IT Now Coalition, said, “Currently, the benefits of telemedicine are limited by an antiquated system of licensure laws that hinder the practice of medicine across state lines. That means that qualified and credentialed physicians must jump through hoops and hurdles before they can treat patients remotely.”

White added, “Congress has already had success in implementing a national telemedicine framework for members of the Department of Defense and Veterans Administration. This bill will do the same thing for Medicare beneficiaries with the number of beneficiaries expected to rise to 81 million by 2030.

The Health IT NOW Coalition hopes Congress will work together to enact the TELE-MED Act into law so that seniors, the disabled, and taxpayers can all benefit from better healthcare at lower costs.”

In another legislative action, it is expected shortly that a bipartisan bill will be introduced by Representative Greg Harper from Mississippi to help move telehealth and remote monitoring closer to reality.

There are several provisions expected in the bill that will provide for fewer Medicare hospital readmits, provide an optional Medicaid package for high-risk births, provide Medicare bundled payments for a post-acute care pilot using telemedicine, allow ACOs to use telehealth for Medicare Advantage Plans, and provide video consults to facilitate home-based kidney dialysis.