At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services expanded Medicare coverage for telehealth nationwide, as discussed here. The $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill signed into law by President Biden today extended the current telehealth accommodations for 151 days after the end of the federal public health emergency, which
Behavioral Health
New Proposed Bills Would Extend Telehealth Waivers, Modernize HIPAA
By Eric Fader on
We don’t often cover brand-new proposed legislation on Rivkin Rounds, generally preferring to wait until it’s closer to becoming law. However, two bipartisan bills introduced in Congress last week are worthy of mention.
The Telehealth Extension and Evaluation Act would allow the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to extend certain pandemic-era flexibilities in Medicare…
NY to Fund New Behavioral Health Stabilization Centers
By Eric Fader on
Posted in Behavioral Health, Legislation and Public Policy
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on February 2 that the state will make available more than $100 million in funding over the next five years for 12 new Intensive Crisis Stabilization Centers across the state. The facilities are akin to urgent care centers for people who are experiencing an acute behavioral health crisis.
Intensive…
Medicare Telehealth Use Increased 63-fold in 2020
By Eric Fader on
A study recently released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) found that the number of beneficiaries in the traditional Medicare program who used telehealth increased from 840,000 in 2019 to nearly 52.7 million in 2020. At the same time, the number of visits to doctors’ offices reimbursed under Part B decreased.…
2022 Medicare PFS Extends Telehealth Services Expansion
The 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule released on November 2 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) added certain services to the Medicare telehealth services list through December 31, 2023. Last year, we wrote about temporary “Category 3” services that were added to the Medicare services list for the duration of…
Recent Developments in Telehealth: For the Pandemic and Beyond
On Thursday, November 18, in the next installment of Rivkin Radler’s Healthcare Compliance Lunch & Learn series, Rivkin Radler Partner Eric D. Fader will present an overview of changes in the provision of telehealth services, and federal and state regulation of them, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. New rules and waivers that are…
Proposed Physician Fee Schedule Includes Expanded Telehealth Reimbursement
By Eric Fader on
The proposed 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, released on July 13 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), includes expanded reimbursement for behavioral health services delivered by telehealth, including reimbursing providers for audio-only telephone calls. The proposed expansion would allow Medicare beneficiaries with mental health or substance abuse disorders to receive diagnosis,…
HIPAA in an Evolving Health Care Environment
On April 6, Rivkin Radler’s Ben Malerba gave a presentation to members of the Coalition for Behavioral Health. The presentation was entitled “HIPAA in an Evolving Health Care Environment: Proposed Changes for 2021 and Response to COVID-19.”
The Coalition for Behavioral Health provides policy, advocacy, training and technical assistance to more than 100 community-based behavioral …
False Claims Act Cases Poised to Jump Now and for Years to Come
Rivkin Radler’s Evan H. Krinick wrote an article entitled “False Claims Act Cases Poised to Jump Now and for Years to Come” that was published in the March 5, 2021 issue of the New York Law Journal. The article discusses health insurance fraud cases in 2020 that involved kickbacks, provision of medically…
NY Gov. Cuomo Proposes Expanded Telehealth Access
By Eric Fader on
In his 2021 State of the State Address on January 10, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced legislation to expand access to telehealth. The proposals will adjust reimbursement incentives to encourage telehealth, relax or eliminate outdated regulatory restrictions on the delivery of telehealth services, and establish training programs for patients and providers and other programs…