Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Troy Balderson (R-OH)
WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Reps. Troy Balderson (OH-12), Neal Dunn, M.D., (FL-2), and Greg Murphy, M.D., (NC-3) reintroduced the Expanding Remote Monitoring Access Act, legislation that would ease restrictions on health care providers and allow more seniors to benefit from remote monitoring services. The remote monitoring program has shown to reduce long-term health care costs, improve health outcomes, and increase options for seniors.
Remote monitoring devices and technology enable health care providers to observe and treat patients from the comfort of their own homes. With remote monitoring, providers are able to catch adverse health events earlier and keep their patients out of the hospital.
“Improving access to quality health care for seniors must be a top priority,” said Balderson. “Remote monitoring is a powerful tool for health care providers to look after a patient’s well-being—especially for patients in rural Ohio, where health care options can be limited. That’s why I’m proud to reintroduce the Expanding Remote Monitoring Access Act, which will help reduce costs and deliver better care where it’s needed most.”
“Remote monitoring is an effective digital technology that helps patients and their doctors to better manage one’s health, particularly for chronic conditions,” said Rep. Greg Murphy, M.D. “Expanding access to this technology will improve health outcomes for patients, reduce hospital readmissions, and extend physicians’ ability to take on a greater caseload. I’m grateful for my colleague Rep. Troy Balderson’s leadership on this issue and I’m proud to support this legislation.”
“OhioHealth aims to keep care local for all of our patients, across our growing footprint,” said Jeff Kasler, a spokesperson for OhioHealth. “Remote patient monitoring is one tool that proves especially valuable for our seniors and rural patients. We support Congressman Balderson’s foresight and leadership in fostering access to care via remote patient monitoring for some of our most vulnerable patients.”
“I commend Rep. Balderson for furthering Medicare coverage of this important methodology of care and studying its benefits,” said Dr. Arick Forrest, President of OSU Physicians at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Vice Dean of Clinical Affairs at the College of Medicine. “The future of improved health care lies in leveraging technology. The ability to consistently monitor a patient’s condition at home leads to improved outcomes. Remote patient monitoring (RPM) has evolved to integrate with electronic medical records for enhanced surveillance by health care providers. These RPM devices have the most impact on managing chronic conditions, which account for 80% of health care spending. This will be foundational for value-based care, leading to improved disease control, fewer complications, and lower costs by avoiding emergency room utilization and hospitalization. We have demonstrated improved management of patients with hypertension, diabetes, heart failure, and high-risk pregnancies.”
“We know that for many people, the best place to receive the care they need is in their own homes,” said Peter J. Pronovost, M.D., Ph.D., F.C.C.M., Chief Quality & Clinical Transformation Officer at University Hospital. “This is particularly true for seniors and those who might struggle with getting to a hospital. Prior to remote patient monitoring, patients needed to be in the hospital to be safely monitored. Remote patient monitoring changed this paradigm. Remote patient monitoring is now an integral part of our care-delivery model. Now is not the time to go back.” “Our analysis during Covid demonstrated the use of remote monitoring reduced hospitalization by 87%, mortality by 77% and cost the average patient $11,500 less than admission,” Pronovost continued. “Most importantly, patients loved it because they slept in their own bed, ate their own food, wore their own clothes and were surrounded by the love of their loved ones.”
“The use of care management services continues to be a great opportunity for Rural Health Clinics in providing care to rural patients outside of the traditional office visit,” said Sarah Hohman, Director of Government Affairs for the National Association of Rural Health Clinics. “We thank Representative Balderson and Representative Porter for their leadership on these issues – ensuring that the full potential of RPM/RTM services can be experienced by RHCs and the patients they serve.”
“Now more than ever, clinicians are leveraging digital health technologies to empower individuals living with chronic conditions,” said Kevin Harper, Vice President & Head of Government Affairs at Teladoc Health. “We are pleased to support legislation from Representatives Balderson and Porter that would ensure Medicare beneficiaries can access critical remote monitoring technologies and better address the chronic disease crisis in the U.S.”
“The ATA and ATA Action commend Congressman Balderson and Congresswoman Porter for their leadership in introducing this important legislation,” said Kyle Zebley, Senior Vice President of Public Policy at the American Telemedicine Association and Executive Director at ATA Action. “Increasing access to both remote physiologic monitoring and remote therapeutic monitoring devices covered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services allows for greater choices for clinically appropriate care for Medicare beneficiaries. We proudly endorse this legislation and urge other advocates of telehealth to do the same.” “Virtual care and remote monitoring are key to creating a more convenient, efficient, and modern health care delivery system,” said Brett Meeks, Executive Director of the Health Innovation Alliance. “The Expanding Remote Monitoring Access Act will allow for the expanded use of current and future technologies, leading to better patient outcomes at reduced costs.”
BACKGROUND:
Providers currently bill Medicare if they monitor a patient for at least 16 days within a 30-day period. During the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) lowered the duration required to bill for remote monitoring services to only two days of data collection.
In addition to implementing the two-day CMS billing threshold for two years, the legislation would require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to submit a report to Congress within one year, analyzing a proper long-term CMS billing threshold and providing a savings estimate from earlier interventions and fewer days of hospitalizations. The report provides flexibility to the HHS Secretary to recommend multiple billing thresholds and any new remote monitoring code durations. It also requires the Secretary to consult with providers, patient groups, technology and device manufacturers, and others to understand the remote monitoring experience from all perspectives.
These services have shown to be an effective alternative to in-person clinical observation for acute and chronic medical conditions. In 2018, the Department of Veterans Affairs found that patients with chronic conditions, such as hypertension or diabetes, who were enrolled in remote monitoring programs saw a 53 percent decrease in bed days and a 33 percent reduction in hospital admissions. Furthermore, a 2022 JAMA analysis of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who received pulmonary rehabilitation resulted in a net cost savings per patient of $5,721.