Telehealth services have become even more critical in caring for patients as the Covid-19 pandemic quickly evolves. To temporarily remove barriers to practice telehealth, the federal government and many states have made sweeping changes in telehealth waiver provisions.

As HORNE continues to closely monitor the impact of legislative responses to the Covid-19 public health emergency, here are a few questions and answers you need to know.

What are the critical dates in the waiver?
• March 6, 2020, was the effective date of all provisions
• Provisions will remain in effect until the public health emergency is declared to be at an end

What are the most notable changes impacting healthcare delivery?
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have long imposed coverage restrictions on where a patient can be located—called the “originating site.” Prior to the waiver, the originating site was required to be a healthcare facility, located in one of the following:
• A rural area (outside of an MSA)
• A health professional shortage area

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