US: Trump wants broader role for telehealth services in Medicare

Trump ministration is taking steps to give telehealth a broer role under Medicare, with an executive order that serves as a call for Congress to make doctor visits via personal techlogy a permanent fixture of program.

order President Donald Trump signed on Monday applies to one segment of Medicare recipients — people living in rural communities. But ministration officials said it's intended as a signal to Congress that Trump is rey to back significant legislation that would permanently open up telehealth as an option for all people with Medicare.

His ministration is “taking action to make sure telehealth is here to stay,” Trump said.

Monday's executive order will also set in motion an experiment under which hospitals in rural communities could receive a more predictable stream of Medicare payments in exchange for delivering better performance on certain measures of quality.

steps are modest — far short of health plan Trump promised when he was elected but has t been able to deliver. Still, Trump is trying to send a signal to voters in rural areas, where long ro trips for medical care are common, that he has t lost sight of ir interests.

telehealth measure directs departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services, as well as Federal Communications Commission, to work toger to build up infrastructure to support telehealth in rural communities.

And it aims to permanently expand kinds of services that can be provided via telehealth. Officials said examples include emergency room visits, nurse consultations, and speech and occupational rapy.

Medicare has greatly expanded its cover of telehealth across country as part of its emergency plan to confront coronavirus pandemic. But that expansion will end in most places once public health emergency is over.

ministration has regulatory authority to permanently expand some services in rural areas, but Congress must sign off on a broer program that would make telehealth a regular option for people living in cities and suburbs. re's bipartisan support for that, but it's unclear anything can happen before vember election.

Medicare statistics show telehealth has been popular. Officials expanded payment for such services as a way to keep seniors safe at home, avoiding risk of catching virus by venturing out for a medical appointment. In last week of April, 1.7 million Medicare recipients relied on telehealth. Before pandemic number was only in thousands.

In a statement, Medicare ministrator Seema Verma predicted telehealth will become modern equivalent of house call.

“In an earlier , doctors commonly me house calls,” she said. “Given how effectively and efficiently health care system has apted to vent of telehealth, it’s become increasingly clear that it is poised to resurrect that trition in modern form.”