The Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA), 2023 (Public Law 117-328), extended certain key virtual care flexibilities instituted during the COVID-19 public health emergency through December 31, 2024. This includes the telehealth safe harbor for health savings account-eligible high deductible health plans. Without congressional action, these waivers and flexibilities will end on December 31, 2024.
Read the latest update from McDermott+ for more information on these policies, relevant regulatory and congressional action, and the likelihood of further extensions before the end of this year.
One year on from the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, the Medicare restrictions on telehealth that Congress waived to allow for and expand the use of telehealth and other forms of virtual care are set to expire. Congress has already acted twice to extend the waivers, most recently in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, which extended them until the end of this calendar year. Thus, starting on January 1, 2025, these waivers will disappear without further Congressional action. The uncertainty about whether Congress will again extend the telehealth waivers (and for how long) will create numerous questions and cause confusion for health plans, patients and providers.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration have further extended flexibilities that allow providers to prescribe controlled substances via telemedicine without first performing an in-person visit. The flexibilities were initially provided during the COVID-19 public health emergency. The extension runs through December 31, 2024.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) are extending telehealth flexibilities that allow providers to prescribe controlled substances. While the extension is in place, the DEA indicated that it will be further evaluating its recently proposed rules for post-COVID-19 public health emergency telemedicine prescription of controlled substances.
Medicare Advantage (MA) plans are facing both regulatory and business risks following the conclusion of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE). What are the major MA flexibilities and requirements related to the pandemic, and have they ended along with the PHE?
On August 4, 2022, the Biden administration declared monkeypox a public health emergency (PHE), a step that will allow the federal government to work with more agility to combat the spreading outbreak, including via expedited vaccine distribution and expanded testing.
The PHE declaration follows the recent appointment of federal officials to head up the monkeypox response team, including Robert Fenton of the Federal Emergency Management Agency as White House national monkeypox response coordinator, and Dr. Demetre Daskalakis of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as White House national monkeypox response deputy coordinator.
The administration also began holding what will be a recurring weekly briefing with congressional staff on August 4. A press release from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on the PHE declaration can be found here.
In hopes that the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) will soon end, Congress and the administration are evaluating the telehealth expansions and flexibilities put in place to respond to the PHE. As a result, the future for telehealth stakeholders remains uncertain. This article outlines various changes in Medicare telehealth reimbursement policy in effect during the PHE and identifies what actions would be required to make these changes permanent.
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