AdvaMed calls on CMS to open access to telehealth

The Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) has proposed that the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) modernize policies to offer beneficiaries more access to digital health technologies.

The association recommended that CMS make changes to coverage and payment policies to give recipients access to health innovations that improve the quality and efficiency of care. AdvaMed provided its recommendations in a new report titled "Modernizing Medicare Coverage of Digital Health Technologies."

It recommended that CMS prioritize the following:

• Recognize the value of new software and applications
• Expand the use of remote patient monitoring and digital communications
• Better link the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's processes for approving and clearing new technologies with Medicare coverage processes

Additionally, it outlined that CMS and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) should take these broader steps:

• Undertake a comprehensive review of all Medicare regulations, guidance, and program instructions
• Evaluate any lessons learned during the COVID-19 health crisis
• Establish an interagency task force to coordinate actions across federal and state agencies
• Create a public-private consortium for digital health technologies

In July, the American Telemedicine Association made a similar request to U.S. lawmakers, asking them to advance permanent telehealth reform. They made this request after seeing so many patients embrace telehealth during the pandemic.