American Telemedicine Association Supports New White House Telehealth Plan

ATA Supports New White House Budget Proposal to Expand Telehealth

PRWEB – February 11, 2016 – President Obama’s budget proposal for a White House Telehealth Plan yesterday, enables the HHS Secretary to expand the ability of Medicare Advantage organizations to deliver medical services via telehealth, estimated to generate more than $160 million in savings over 10 years.

“See American Medical Association (ATA) has been advocating for such language for many years. Although there is more to be done, this represents an important victory for telemedicine, Medicare patients and the nation’s taxpayers,” said ATA CEO Jonathan Linkous. “This policy signals a significant foot-in-the-door toward transforming the way healthcare is delivered.”

By integrating face‐to‐face care with remote access care in both rural and urban areas, this proposal will improve care coordination, provide for more timely exchanges between specialists, and facilitate beneficiary access to care in situations where traveling to provider offices would be more difficult. The decision to utilize the telehealth benefit would remain at the discretion of the beneficiary.

This marks the first time that any White House has included specific telehealth improvements in its proposed budget. Over 16 million Medicare beneficiaries in Medicare managed care (Medicare Advantage) would be impacted.

See American Medical Association in The Telemedicine Directory

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