The Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed likely to preserve the $8 billion a year the government spends to subsidize phone and internet services in schools, libraries and rural areas. The justices heard nearly three hours of arguments in a new test of federal regulatory power, reviewing an appellate ruling that struck down as unconstitutional the Universal Service Fund, the tax that has been added to phone bills for nearly 30 years.
Providers, patients and digital health companies are ramping up their calls for more certainty that Medicare will continue to reimburse them for telehealth appointments after the current authority to do so expires on April 1.
Teladoc Health on Wednesday announced it will acquire the preventative care company Catapult Health in an all-cash deal for $65 million. Catapult offers an at-home wellness exam that allows members to check their blood pressure, collect a blood sample, log other screening information and meet virtually with a nurse practitioner. Teladoc, a virtual care platform, said the acquisition will help it improve its ability to detect health conditions early. The company said Catapult will operate within its integrated care segment after the deal closes. At JPMorgan's healthcare conference in January, Teladoc said it is actively working to grow membership and use of services within its integrated care segment.
CMS in 2020 temporarily expanded Medicare's telehealth coverage to all specialties. That expansion, renewed in 2022, is set to expire at the end of the year, impacting more than 65 million Americans. Multiple bills have been introduced in the 118th Congress to preserve Medicare telehealth provisions and continue allowing people on Medicare to use telehealth flexibly, but all still await votes in both the House and Senate. Perhaps the likeliest to pass, the Telehealth Modernization Act of 2024, introduced by Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), received widespread, bipartisan support from members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and its subcommittee on health.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in the House and Senate are calling for COVID-era flexibilities on telemedicine services to be extended to ensure access to 'necessary and life-saving treatments,' and are speaking out against a proposed rule reportedly being advanced by the DEA that would limit telemedicine prescribing. The proposed rule would reportedly require that no more than half of a prescriber's prescriptions be given through telemedicine. The rule would also reportedly make prescribing schedule II substances like Adderall virtually impossible.
Virtual pediatric behavioral health company Brightline has transformed its go-to-market strategy. The shift involves shutting down the company's operations in 45 states, nixing its enterprise commercial functions and planning to create hybrid care models in five states. The change was also accompanied by significant layoffs. "It's been a hard week for Brightline," read a blog post by co-founder and CEO Naomi Allen. "We made the decision over the last couple of weeks to restructure our national virtual-care employer-focused business to focus on a new go-to-market strategy that we believe will allow us to serve our mission in a more effective way." Palo Alto, California-based Brightline currently operates virtually in 50 states. As part of its transformation, the company will stop new patient intake in November. It will continue treating all patients through the end of the year, then relaunch virtual services in only the five states selected for the hybrid model.