The data has been compiled! The American Telemedicine Association (ATA) has released its latest snapshot of the 2019 current state of telehealth policy issues and changes that have occurred across the country. As a founding member, we at ViTel Net are pleased to provide a brief summary of their findings.As their robust report shows, the National status continues to evolve and is very complex with changes in coverage and payment criteria.
Report overview
Let’s start with an overview. The ATA’s 2019 State of the States Report provides a complete picture of state telehealth policies by providing context in:
- Medicaid coverage of different patient settings, technologies, and providers
- Coverage and payment parity of services provided via telehealth and services provided in-person
- Innovative payment service delivery models
The status across the US continues to evolve with very complex changes in coverage and payment criteria, and their latest update is a snapshot of the 2019 current state. And, there have been a lot of changes in the industry since their last report in Feb 2017, known as the State Telemedicine Gaps Analysis – Coverage and Reimbursement.
Some findings
Here some key takeaways to give you a taste of the valuable info they’ve delivered.
- Improved coverage and reimbursement of telehealth adopted by 40 states and Washington D.C. since the 2017 report
- States continue to move away from the traditional hub-and-spoke model with regard to patient settings
- A majority of states have adopted policies in which the Medicaid program will treat telehealth services and in-person services the same for coverage and/or payment purposes
- 22 states and Washington D.C. now cover remote patient monitoring, while 29 states and D.C cover services delivered through store and forward technology; conditions for payment vary considerably by state
- States are increasingly using telehealth to fill provider shortages and ensure access to specialty care.
- A category to capture innovative payment and service delivery models implemented in each state is included, along with state by state reference and source citations
- 10 states have adopted or substantively updated policy concerning types of providers eligible for telehealth reimbursement
Get the report
In conclusion, the ATA has empowered us with plenty of very good info. Time to retrieve it and take advantage of the data.
- Members can access the report, report summary, and webinar recording by logging into the website – click here.
- If you’re not a member, you can still get access. Click on this link and submit the basic form; the ATA will email you a downloadable link of the summary. And do consider membership!
