HLTH 2021: Reimbursement Flexibility Is Key to Digital Health Innovation

Regulation rollbacks increased virtual care adoption during the pandemic, and more reimbursement freedom could take digital transformation even further. With the pandemic came a need to reach more patients remotely than ever before. To address this need, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, which granted authority for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide flexibility for Medicare telehealth services through waivers.

This flexibility led to increased adoption of virtual care technology and innovation in digital health. During HLTH 2021, speakers discussed how regulations impact digital health innovation and what the future of virtual care reimbursement could look like.

The healthcare industry mostly operates under a fee-for-service model, but a shift to value-based care is happening gradually. Couch said that the ability to share dashboards, analytics and actionable data would help the industry move toward value-based care.