WASHINGTON — A group of bipartisan senators working on mental health policies have proposed relaxing requirements that would limit access to services for older people through telemedicine, they announced Thursday. bottom.
Congress made access to mental health services through telemedicine for the permanent elderly in 2020, but there was a catch — seniors must visit the same provider directly within the last six months. I had to. This requirement has not yet come into force technically as an emergency regulation is still in place for a pandemic, but if it does, it will dramatically limit older people’s options for mental health services. May be done.
Relaxing the requirements for face-to-face visits is good news for some virtual-only telemedicine companies that have built a foothold during the pandemic. These companies are lobbying for more tolerant rules about the scope of telemedicine, even after the emergency phase of the pandemic is over.
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The Senator, who is in charge of assessing telemedicine policy, unveiled a draft of their plan on Thursday. This will require the insurance plan to maintain voice-only mental health insurance at Medicare, provide public information about the beneficiary’s right to access telemedicine, and give the state more flexibility. It also includes that. Funding a Children’s Health Insurance Program for school-based mental health services.
Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ranking members Mike Klapo (R-Idaho), Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) And John Thune (RN.D.) are working on this initiative. I took the lead.
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The proposal also requires a report on the use of telemedicine. This is an issue as lawmakers are discussing guardrails regarding the use of telemedicine.
Telemedicine policy is the result of one of several working groups of the Senate Finance Committee. Other groups are focused on strengthening the mental health workforce, strengthening care coordination, and ensuring equality in mental health compensation policies. The House of Representatives also held a hearing on mental health policy in this parliament.
