TeleHealth Reimbursement: A key to Virtual Care Innovation
A new survey finds that TeleHealth reimbursement is critical for ensuring virtual care innovation and addressing healthcare staffing issues in primary care practices. According to a poll done by the Larry A. Green Center, primary care practices began relying on TeleHealth in mid-August in collaboration with the Primary Care Collaborative (PCC). Almost 64% of clinicians stated TeleHealth is critical to sustaining access to care. However, 41% of survey respondents are concerned that if pre-pandemic regulations are reinstated, their practice will not offer TeleHealth/telemedicine services. Almost 21% of practitioners said they had already limited their use of telemedicine due to reduced compensation. In the midst of a global epidemic, the country's regulations have fostered TeleHealth by permitting payment equity or higher reimbursement rates for TeleHealth. TeleHealth's rapid growth has a substantial impact on how public payers reimburse TeleHealth providers. However, several private insurers have relaxed their telemedicine reimbursement policies since the pandemic. Because of payment laws, changes in how public payers reimburse TeleHealth providers have emerged from the rapid rise of TeleHealth. However, TeleHealth reimbursement could be critical in fulfilling increased patient demand for virtual services and addressing primary care's most pressing concern during the pandemic: healthcare staffing.