Health Care Policy Update – May 22, 2017

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 What’s Ahead: This Week Hearings/Markups – Wednesday, May 24 Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, “Markup: Pending Legislation.” Hearing to discuss the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 (S. 1094). House Energy & Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations, “U.S. Public Health Response to the Zika Virus: Continuing Challenges.” House Budget Committee,… Read more »

Consumerism is Driving Telehealth Growth and it’s Here to Stay

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If you look up the definition of “health care consumerism”, according to Wikipedia, the term means a movement toward patients being more involved in their own health care decisions. It’s more than that. It is also about patients setting the terms by which they will seek and receive health care services. The old paradigm of… Read more »

Virtual Care Identified as “Deflator” of Health Care Costs

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PwC’s Health Research Institute (HRI) issued its annual projection of the coming year’s health care cost growth. Unfortunately, 2016 is no different than previous years. HRI projects a rise of 6.5 percent in medical cost trend, which continues a leveling of the increases we’ve seen since 2007, but it is still an increase. HRI analyzed… Read more »

2015: Another Unstoppable Year for Telehealth

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Offering telehealth to employees or health plan beneficiaries used to be a differentiator in benefits – an added perk for employees or health care consumers increasingly demanding convenience and accessibility. Today, it is rapidly becoming a necessary addition to benefit packages. Not only do employees and prospective health plan enrollees want it, but it’s also… Read more »

Is Ohio About to be a Model for Federal Telemedicine Reimbursement?

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The time for telemedicine reimbursement in our country is now. Telemedicine has gone beyond just being a solution for rural consumers who cannot access medical care. It has continually been shown to improve access to care in urban, suburban and rural areas. It also reduces emergency department and urgent care visits, and gives consumers a… Read more »