Population-based rates of telemedicine abortion were highest in Southern and Midwestern states, particularly those with abortion bans, during a 15-month period starting in July 2023. That's when several telehealth abortion providers, including Aid Access, began prescribing medication abortion under state shield laws intended to protect abortion care providers who treat patients in areas with bans. In those 15 months, 84% of Aid Access' prescriptions went to patients in states with near-total abortion bans or bans specifically on telemedicine abortion. Notably, rates of abortion provision were higher in areas where people had to travel farther to the nearest clinic, and in counties with higher poverty levels.
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.