Legislation to Address Telehealth in SNFs Introduced In Congress

Last week, 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) introduced companion versions of the Reducing Unnecessary Senior Hospitalizations (RUSH) Act of 2020—legislation to facilitate greater use of telehealth in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs).

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 model generates savings, they would be shared between the medical group and the SNF. While SNFs with a star rating of less than three are eligible to participate in the model, they would not be eligible for shared savings until they successfully achieve a three- star rating.

As further incentive to improve quality of care, facilities in the Medicare Special Focus Facility program would be ineligible to participate in the program. If the program does not save money over time, Medicare would be required to terminate it.

The Society has been advocating for the expansion of telehealth with a coalition of stakeholders. This legislation is a step forward to improving access to telehealth services in the PALTC sector.