On April 22, a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators introduced S. 1309, the Home Health Emergency Access to Telehealth (HEAT) Act. The legislation provides reimbursement to home health agencies for telehealth services provided under the Medicare program.

Unlike most provider groups, home health agencies endured a Medicare payment penalty for delivering some services by telehealth under the public health emergency. While limitations on reimbursement for telehealth are long-standing, the pandemic made the restriction a glaring problem.

The new legislation grants CMS the authority to issue a waiver that would allow telehealth visits to count towards in-person visits under a home health episode. Under the current home health Medicare payment model, low-visit episodes are reimbursed at a lower rate. With telehealth visits excluded from “visit” counts, agencies were penalized for providing some services by telehealth, even as they were being urged to do so where appropriate by public health authorities. The bill also includes guardrails including patient consent for telehealth services, a requirement that telehealth visits comprise of no more than half of all visits and a pre-existing relationship between the patient and ordering physician.

Vermont’s Congressional delegation has been supportive of national efforts to reimburse home health for telehealth services since the beginning of the pandemic.

Maleeha Syed, Burlington Free Press

Vermont Business Magazine