Posted on 03/17/2020 12:12:42 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on March 17 lifted all restrictions on telehealth services for Americans covered by Medicare to address the threat of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic.
President Donald Trump announced the lifting of the limits during a press conference at the White House, calling it a historic breakthrough.
This has not been done before either, the president said.
Previously Medicare only covered telehealth services for those living in rural areas and brief visits for established patients. With the restrictions lifted, all 62 million Medicare beneficiaries can call a doctors office and request to have their appointments conducted remotely via software like Skype and WhatsApp.
Medicare recipients are 65 years or older, making the group among the most vulnerable to the virus.
This is a part of our larger effort around mitigation. As we are encouraging Americans to stay home whenever possible, we dont want out Medicare policies getting in the way, said CMS Administrator Seema Verma.
As a result, a person from the vulnerable population who needs a routine check up will not have to venture outside of his or her home and can avoid unnecessary exposure to the virus. Meanwhile, elderly Medicare recipients who are experiencing mild flu-like symptoms can avoid having to sit in waiting rooms with other vulnerable patients and see a doctor from the comfort of their homes.
Verma said that the agency made the change in accord with a recent appropriations bill and the emergency declaration issued by Trump.
This action is part of our broader effort to make sure that government requirements, rules, and regulations dont get in the way of patient care during an emergency, Verma said.
(Excerpt) Read more at theepochtimes.com ...
Smart, once again Trump breaking new ground in wonderful ways...”Man of the Year”.
This is huge. I hope it stays after the pandemic is done.
This was overdue. Even before the current situation we should have allowed the expansion of telehealth services.
Yup. Learned something new from his presser. Before a doctor could not speak with you over his personal cell phone without violating HIPAA.
Outstanding move! A tremendous amount of medicine can be done this way. I have been in situations where my PCP performs tests & blood work on behalf of specialists that I’ve only met via teleconference. It works. Saves time, money and provides access to the right doctors.
Now this is GOOOOOD.
I know... very interesting.
President Trump and VP Pence have been *fabulous* during these daily pressers! Can you imagine Obama, Hillary, Senile Joe or Bolshevik Bernie running these pressers - and leading this impressive team of doctors and other professionals - thru this coronavirus outbreak?
Likewise for so many other suspended regulations. If regulations are problematic in a crisis, and dont demonstrably cause other problems, dont restore them.
Be careful what you wish for. I foresee a future where all our telehealth services are going to be conducted by doctors named Dr. Smith and Dr. Schneider and Dr. Goldberg ... all of whom have conspicuously odd heavy Indian accents. :-P
[[As a result, a person from the vulnerable population who needs a routine check up will not have to venture outside of his or her home]]
How can this be possible when they check things like reflexes, lymph glands, tongue, eyes, etc?
I can see it with follow up visits where the docs just discuss test results with the patients, but even then the docs usually need to see the person to be able to gauge certain things like swollen lymph glands, reflexes etc-
not knowing this at all, just curious how it will work?
Every person on Trump’s CV response team has been impressive. Without exception. Even Dr. Fauci!
People will realize when it’s over what a Godsend it was to have a man in office who thinks “Outside the Box” as Trump does.
Yep.
It will be expensive and of course the virus is a shame for anyone affected, but let’s hope Trump gets four more years to really remake the government and get our economy secured in a much more resilient, self-reliant way in the meantime. The MAGA agenda is more relevant than ever.
And whereas before, where I was uncommitted about Pence. I will walk through broken glass in 2024 to vote for him.
“I foresee a future where all our telehealth services are going to be conducted by doctors named Dr. Smith and Dr. Schneider and Dr. Goldberg ... all of whom have conspicuously odd heavy Indian accents. :-P”
That is already often the case with in-person healthcare (well, not the fake names, but the heavy accents).
Saw almost all of Trump’s Presser today.
It was outstanding.. and at least an hour and a half long.
Not many are going to want Biden and his gang of clowns to take Trump’s place.
What about checking BP, listening to the heartbeat for irregularities, etc? Is there a way to do that remotely as yet?
“Every person on Trumps CV response team has been impressive. Without exception. Even Dr. Fauci!”
I agree, in spite of some FR “MDs” saying that Fauci is a scrawny, deep-state geek and a fraud.
They had that decades ago. My Dad (RIP) used to connect his pacemaker to the phone line and send in data. He was a career telephone company guy, so that really made him smile.
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