covid

WASHINGTON, OCTOBER 14, 2020--The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) expanded the list of telehealth services that Medicare Fee-For-Service will pay for during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Public Health Emergency (PHE). CMS is also providing additional support to state Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) agencies in their efforts to expand access to telehealth.

The disproportionate effect of school closures on low-income children, who are less likely to have access to computers, home internet connections and direct instruction from teachers, has been well documented. Less recognized are the effects of school closures on children’s oral health. The closures have suspended regular dental health visits in schools from rural Oregon to New York state, according to specialists in the field.

It’s back-to-school time, but this year, the exuberance of children returning to learning has been dampened by the concerns and questions the coronavirus pandemic raises.
 

As the realization settles in that the pandemic will stretch into multiple quarters rather than multiple months, CEOs must again grapple with how to advise their employees on returning to the office. In March, many initially set an arbitrary reopening date of Labor Day 2020. Yet as the holiday quickly approaches and case numbers continue to rise, many are split on whether to move ahead or walk back their plans to reopen their offices.

Telehealth is a bit of American ingenuity that seems to have paid off in the coronavirus pandemic. Medicare temporarily waived restrictions predating the smartphone era and now there’s a push to make telemedicine widely available in the future.