By Susan Walberg

The Coronavirus pandemic is all over the news, and is affecting us all, especially those in healthcare on the front lines.

For those of us who are responsible for compliance, there are many new challenges, issues, and questions that arise as this situation rapidly unfolds. In addition, the federal government has been providing daily briefings which often announce new changes. Just this week they announced a willingness for providers to work across state lines. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, (CMS) has been issuing various waivers to states, which can be found on the CMS page under the Medicaid section.

As I think about this as a compliance person, and listen to the briefings, I see a few key topics that will generate questions and that people need to understand.

1. Telehealth

Historically, patient care via electronic transmission was not widely available as an option for Medicare beneficiaries. While there is some benefit, it has been primarily for rural patients. The big news here is that health care providers are now being allowed (under Medicare) to provide services via telehealth. So, what does this mean in real terms?

First of all, telehealth services that are now being allowed are not solely for suspected Coronavirus cases. This is an important point. The Medicare population is generally considered more vulnerable and the desire is to preclude them from going out and getting exposed if it’s not necessary. President Trump has also encouraged private insurers to look at this option. So if a patient is requesting that service for an unrelated illness or condition, don’t say no on that basis.

Not only does telehealth help protect patients from undue exposure that they would face at a health care facility, it also allows for more efficient use of health care resources. So providers should take advantage of this opportunity, not only in the current crisis but hopefully it will lead to increased use going forward.

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