Trump orders task force to find ways to improve rural health care access - Entrepreneur Generations

On Monday President Trump signed an order aimed at improving rural health care access. The order directs the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Federal Communications Commission and a few other agencies to form a task force to identify and implement ways to overcome barriers rural Americans face in accessing health care, all within the next 30 days, Larry Lee reports for Brownfield Ag News for America.

The order calls on HHS to develop a new pilot payment model for rural hospitals, and also extend expanded coverage of telehealth services for Medicare patients beyond the pandemic, Elise Reuter reports for MedCity News.

"Prior to the pandemic, Medicare had several restrictions in place for virtual visits. Telehealth visits were only covered for patients in rural communities, and they still had to take place in a doctor’s office, hospital, or other health facility. The number of covered services was also limited," Reuter reports. "Since the start of the covid-19 pandemic, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has waived those restrictions, allowing Medicare to cover 135 new services over telehealth, such as physical therapy or mental health services."


from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/31m16fd Trump orders task force to find ways to improve rural health care access - Entrepreneur Generations

Posted by Entrepreneur Generations

Tweet