Ways and Means Holds Hearing on Remote Patient Monitoring and At-Home Care
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means convened a hearing on March 12th to examine opportunities for enhancing access to care at home for patients in rural and underserved communities.
During the hearing, lawmakers spoke about the importance of maintaining the telehealth flexibilities that make at-home care possible, while also highlighting the need to protect patients and taxpayers from potential waste, fraud, and abuse.
There was widespread agreement about the value of remote patient monitoring (RPM), particularly for patients with chronic conditions or those living in rural areas, but witnesses offered different approaches for reimbursing for care, such as a national average reimbursement rate to ensure continued patient access to high-value, evidence-driven remote monitoring services, and limiting service to six months, with a focus on care for patients most likely to benefit from its use.