Massachusetts Takes the Lead in Telehealth
If you’re like millions of people across the U.S. who’ve had a routine health checkup or an urgent care visit in the last few months, chances are it was virtual. With Forester’s Research estimating virtual visits on track to surpass more than a billion by year’s end, it’s clear that telehealth has become the default for healthcare during the pandemic.
The state that leads the nation on telehealth adoption and payment models is Massachusetts. That was confirmed on August 6th by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma during a videoconference with some of the Commonwealth’s doctors and healthcare leaders. “You all are the state with the highest utilization. I think nearly 50 percent of the Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries used telemedicine during the pandemic in your area,” she told them.
There are several reasons why Massachusetts residents have advantages in accessing telehealth. Ours is one of the few states that fully lifted restrictive rules around telehealth during the current emergency. Thanks to Governor Baker’s executive order, all forms of medically necessary virtual visits are reimbursed at the rate of in-person office visits.
This better serves the people of the Commonwealth, especially our health-centers’ patients, who reflect the diverse needs of our community. Many of these patients are among our most economically vulnerable and are also our essential workers. They’ve faced lost wages, find it difficult to take time off when able to work, and often struggle with the competing cost of housing, day care, food, transportation, and more. Through its flexibility and low-time commitment, telehealth gives fast, convenient access to care. By expanding access to needed care, it also promotes health equity.
Another advantage Commonwealth residents have in accessing telehealth is a new campaign from the Massachusetts FQHC Telehealth Consortium that greatly increases telehealth capacity among Massachusetts’ Federally Qualified Health Centers. Driven by persistent need, accelerated by the urgency of the pandemic, the campaign promotes sharing of connected devices such as tablets and smartphones with patients to make access to care possible, closing the digital divide to narrow the healthcare inequity gap.
Not only a lifesaver for low-income patients, telehealth is helping to keep the doors open at community health centers like ours. Nationally, in-person doctor visits have been down 50 to 75 percent, resulting in billions in lost income. If health centers were forced to close their doors, Massachusetts’s healthcare system would be overwhelmed, reducing capacity at this critical time.
However, combined with state and federal support, rapid adoption of telehealth is providing critical revenues to health centers during the pandemic and ensuring that patients receive the best care. The work of legislators including Senators James Eldridge (D — Middlesex and Worcester), Michael Barret (D — Third Middlesex), William Brownsberger (D — Second Suffolk and Middlesex), Sal DiDomenico (D — Middlesex and Suffolk), Diana DiZoglio (D — First Essex), and Barry Finegold (D — Second Essex and Middlesex), and Representatives Danielle Gregoire (D — 4th Middlesex), Thomas Stanley (D — 9th Middlesex), Kevin Honan (D — 17th Suffolk), and Frank Moran (D — 17th Essex) should be recognized. Their support for community health centers in fulfilling their mission of delivering quality care and services to the Commonwealth essential workers and other patients is an important part of that success.
Telehealth has proven that it works to the advantage of all. That’s why the restrictions on telehealth that were in force pre-pandemic should be permanently lifted. Its acceptance by MassHealth, the campaign to expand its capacity, and the support of our legislative champions point the way toward a new payment model that ensures access to quality care for the most vulnerable communities, promotes racial justice and health equity, now and when the pandemic is history.
