Anthem Blue Cross of California has launched a new telehealth option for its 1.2 million Medicaid patients in California. These patients can access both urgent care and behavioral health visits through Anthem’s LiveHealth Online telehealth platform via smartphone, tablet or computer.
“We have members in rural counties that are looking at this very favorably,” Dr. Barsam Kasravi, chief medical...
Last week’s announcement of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ new fee schedule could mean a big increase in the amount of care given via telemedicine that’s reimbursed by Medicare. But for its state-funded cousin Medicaid, the availability of telemedicine services varies greatly based on where you are.
A new survey out last week from Manatt Health looks at Medicaid fee-for-service...
Mobile Medicaid: Missouri Medicaid members have a new mobile tool when searching for healthcare information. Missouri Care’s mobile app will allow patients to find a doctor or dentist, locate nearby urgent care centers or hospitals, access wellness service, display their Missouri Care Member ID card or send it to provider, and receive member updates. The app is free and can be used on iOS or...
November 20, 2017
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General will audit Medicaid payments for telemedicine and telehealth payments to ensure compliance with reimbursement requirements.
The report is scheduled for 2019, given the breadth and scope of the project. The audit was added to OIG’s work plan this week, as the agency noted a “significant increase in claims for these...
While the Senate’s efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act imploded last week, that hasn’t stopped lawmakers from introducing bills that would make tweaks to the healthcare system in smaller ways. One such bill, sponsored by Reps. Doris Matsui, (D-California), and Bill Johnson, (R-Ohio), would expand the use of telemedicine to reduce costs.
The bill, the Evidence-Based Telehealth...
A new report on telemental health in Health Affairs shows that, among rural Medicare beneficiaries, use of telemedicine for mental health is growing quickly but inconsistently across the population. The piece is meant to provide perspectives for legislatures as they consider increasing Medicare coverage of telemedicine.
“We found that from 2004 to 2014 there was rapid growth nationwide in...
While it is impossible to call any one method of patient engagement “tried and true,” texting as a means of getting people to play an active role in their healthcare has been a successful strategy in many cases, ranging from diabetes management to depression.
That’s Encino, California-based mPulse Mobile’s forte, and the company has now attracted the attention of Harvard Medical School...
The Center for Connected Health Policy has released the fifth edition of its State Telehealth Laws and Reimbursement Policies Report. CCHP uncovered many notable findings in the new report. Perhaps chief among those: 48 states and Washington, D.C., provide reimbursement for some form of live video in Medicaid fee-for-service.
Specifically, 13 states reimburse for store-and-forward delivered...
Fifty-two percent of Michigan Medicaid recipients own a smartphone and 64 percent own a laptop, but only 40 percent own a tablet. Those are some of the many insights from a phone survey of 900 Medicaid consumers conducted by the Michigan Public Health Institute and presented today by MPHI Health Engagement Manager James Bell III at the Pop Health Forum in Boston.
“With the data we captured we’re...
Healthcare communications software companies Sense Health and Voxiva have merged to form Wellpass, a messaging platform to connect payers, providers and the patients they serve. By joining forces, the two companies are blending sizable customer bases and an experience working with the complex organization structures of Medicaid programs. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed....
