Legislation to Improve Telehealth Reintroduced

On July 29, Sens. John Thune (R-SD) and Ben Cardin (D-MD), members of the Senate Finance Committee, and Reps. Adrian Smith (R-NE) and Ann Kuster (D-NH) reintroduced companion versions of the Reducing Unnecessary Senior Hospitalizations (RUSH) Act of 2021, bipartisan, bicameral legislation to facilitate greater use of telehealth in skilled nursing facilities.    =

In summary, the RUSH Act would allow Medicare to enter into voluntary, value-based arrangements with medical groups to provide acute care to patients in skilled nursing facilities using a combination of telehealth and on-site staff. Working together to coordinate care, the providers can avoid a more costly patient transfer to the emergency department. If the program generates savings, they would be shared between the medical group and the skilled nursing facility. While skilled nursing facilities with a star rating of less than three are eligible to participate in the program, they would not be eligible for shared savings until they successfully achieve a three-star rating.

The Society and its Telehealth Workgroup worked with other stakeholders to provide input in crafting the legislation. The Society applauds reintroduction and will work to move it through the congressional process.