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Law360 (March 30, 2020, 8:22 PM EDT) -- A Democratic senator is urging the federal government to allow audio-only communications under its push to expand Medicare coverage for telehealth services, saying some Americans most at risk from the novel coronavirus don't have access to video-conferencing equipment to obtain services covered by the national insurance program.
While Medicare covers telehealth services that include audio-video communications, 44 million Medicare recipients don't have access to those services at home, Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., told the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Friday.
Health care providers must be able to bill the agency for services conducted by a phone conversation, as opposed to video conferencing on laptops and tablets, the senator said in his letter to CMS Administrator Seema Verma. Current regulations require access to both audio and video equipment for interactive communication.
"No Medicare recipients should be denied telehealth access at this perilous time simply because they lack video-conferencing capabilities," Markey wrote. "During this public health crisis, CMS must do everything it can to help on our nation's most vulnerable populations."
Markey's letter comes just weeks after CMS announced it would vastly expand the use of telehealth services for the most vulnerable Americans.
The agency said the expanded Medicare coverage will enable beneficiaries to receive a wider range of health care services from their doctors, like temporarily paying clinicians to provide telehealth for beneficiaries residing across the entire country.
Under the guidance, patients can also access their doctors "using a wider range of communication tools including telephones that have audio and video capabilities."
But Markey said Friday that those steps are only the beginning of what is required to meet the nation's challenges.
"I applaud CMS for taking this step, but the recent guidance is insufficient to meet the nation's needs during this public health crisis," he said. "CMS must further bolster its response by doing everything in its power to assist patients seeking telehealth services through audio-only communications tools as well."
As the federal government works to contain the spread of COVID-19, which had infected 140,904 people in the U.S. as of Monday afternoon, Markey said that in his state alone, over 140,000 residents are estimated to not have access to fixed wireless or broadband.
Markey added that expanding access will also be of critical importance for individuals seeking behavioral and mental health services as the weight of the ongoing crisis continues to settle in.
--Additional reporting by Christopher Cole. Editing by Abbie Sarfo.
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