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Aging advocates brace for uncertain future
The message from Washington D.C. to a group of aging advocates was blunt: survive 2025, then regroup for the fight ahead. The political dynamics will change in 2026 with the critical midterm election according to Bob Blancato, a leading national expert on aging policy. He delivered a sobering overview of the future of aging programs…
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How the shutdown is impacting telehealth and hospital-at-home programs
The government shutdown, for the first time, has halted flexibilities for telehealth for Medicare beneficiaries that had been established since the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, some offices are no longer offering telehealth services, and as a result, some patients must travel to a medical office to receive these services. It also stalled the…
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Guidance for covering the virtual foodcare movement
It’s well-known that consuming healthy, nutritious foods can help prevent, manage or treat some clinical conditions. Embracing this concept, ATA Action (the American Telemedicine Association’s advocacy arm) and others launched a Virtual Foodcare Coalition this year to develop and promote policies that align telehealth with nutritional support, promoting overall health. Journalists can find numerous interesting…
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‘Care on the Fly’ brings telehealth services to the airport
It’s no fun feeling sick or worrying about various ailments while you’re traveling. Experts at Hartford HealthCare are addressing this concern locally by staffing a walk-in telehealth kiosk at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Conn. The new resource offers immediate access to clinicians for any of the 12,000 passengers who go through the airport…
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What reporters need to know about hospital-at-home programs
Hospital-at-home programs — in which patients receive acute-level care in their homes instead of a hospital setting — have grown in popularity since the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this health care model, some patients who normally would receive care in the hospital, such as for an infection, an exacerbation of a chronic illness,…
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Telehealth for Medicare beneficiaries gets another reprieve
A continuing resolution passed by Congress and signed by President Trump in mid-March to avoid a government shutdown also extended telehealth benefits for Medicare beneficiaries for six months, all of which were set to expire today. This action bought another few months for these benefits, which previously were set to expire at the end of…
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Telehealth is falling short among Medicaid recipients, study says
While telehealth is expanding access to substance use disorder treatment in rural areas, a new study suggests that it’s failing to adequately serve Medicaid beneficiaries, as they are less likely than the privately insured to access substance use disorder treatment. For journalists covering rural health disparities, the Medicaid cliff and the promises (and pitfalls) of…
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