Response to classmate-Select an effective current health policy that focuses on or affects population health

QUESTION- Select an effective current health policy that focuses on or affects population health. What components of this policy make it effective? Conduct research on its history and the factors that influenced its development.

Response: Topic 7 DQ 2-Nicola

A current health policy that affects population health is the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2020. This Act was passed to address the coronavirus outbreak. With the spread of Covid-19, patients showing severe symptoms needed urgent care, however this was very challenging for people who did not have readily access to healthcare for example people living in rural areas. The Act expanded the waivers under section 1135 to incorporate certain telehealth benefits. Before adjustments were made, Medicare part B usually pays for practitioners to provide telehealth services through specific communication systems, and beneficiaries had to travel to certain sites and used specific equipment for Medicare to pay for these services. With the passing of this new legislation, beneficiaries could receive telehealth services not only through these specific sites but from other locations such as their homes and they did not have to use these specific communication systems they could use their phones, computers, etc. What is also worth mentioning is that these telehealth provisions were not just limited to the diagnosis and treatment of covid-19, but it was also expanded to include telehealth services in emergency areas, irrespective of a person’s healthcare needs. This Act helps provide needed health services through telehealth while minimizing exposure or transmission of coronavirus and lessen the impact of people surging on healthcare facilities (Congressional Research Service, 2020).

In the first quarter of 2020, 16.2% sought care for Covid-19 related symptoms using telehealth during the last 3 weeks in March, this is an increase from 5.5%. Also, in the last week of March there was an increase of 154% using telehealth to seek care. What was also remarkable is that 93% sought care for conditions not related to Covid-19 through telehealth. It was also noted that visits to the emergency departments had also declined. This obvious shift has implications for longer term population health. The Act has improved access to acute, primary and specialty care not only through this pandemic, but can also improve access to specific populations even after the pandemic is over (Coonin, et al., 2020).

References:

Congressional Research Service, (2020). Section 1135 waivers and covid-19: An overview. https://www. Section 1135 Waivers and COVID-19: An Overview (congress.gov)

Coonin, L.M., Hoots, B., Tsang, C.A., Leroy, Z., Farris, K., Jolly, T., Antall, P., McCabe, B., Zelis, C.B.R., Tong, I. & Harris, A.M., (2020). Trends in the use of telehealth during the emergence of COVID-19 Pandemic-United States, January-March, 2020. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www. Trends in the Use of Telehealth During the Emergence of the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, January–March 2020 | MMWR (cdc.gov)

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Solution

Response

The Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2020, was signed into law on 6 March 2020. The act aimed at providing approximately $8.3 billion for responding to the outbreak.  Out of the $ 8.3 billion, $6.7 billion was to be spent to respond to challenges within the country. Among the domestic efforts was a waiver on the removal of restrictions on Medicare providers to allow the provision of telehealth services with an aim of increasing access to healthcare services. This effort was estimated to cost approximately $ 500 million. In addition to the removal of geographical and site restrictions, the waivers also included a waiver on the requirement that the healthcare provider should hold a license from the state in which they practice/ services as long as they have an equivalent qualification from another state and are enrolled under Medicare. The waiver also allowed for the inclusion of audio-only telehealth services for services such as evaluation, behavioral counseling, education, and management services, however other services have to meet a minimum of audio and video allowing real-time interaction between the patient and the care provider, (Center for Medicare and Medicaid services, 2021).

To determine the impact of waivers on the utilization of telehealth services, trends in utilization of telehealth from January to March 2020, were compared to that of the same period in 2019. Compared to 2019, there was a 50% increase in the number of telehealth visits in 2020. Most visits were for adults aged between 18 and 49 years approximately 69% in 2020 and females accounted for 63% of the visits. 69% of patients who sought telehealth services were treated at home, 26% had to follow up with a primary care provider, and 1.5 % were recommended to visit an emergency department, (Coonin et al., 2020).

References

Center for Medicare and Medicaid services, (2021) Medicare Telemedicine Health Care Provider Fact Sheet, Retrieved from: https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/medicare-telemedicine-health-care-provider-fact-sheet

Coonin, L.M., Hoots, B., Tsang, C.A., Leroy, Z., Farris, K., Jolly, T., Antall, P., McCabe, B., Zelis, C.B.R., Tong, I. & Harris, A.M., (2020). Trends in the use of telehealth during the emergence of COVID-19 Pandemic-United States, January-March, 2020. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www. Trends in the Use of Telehealth During the Emergence of the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, January–March 2020 | MMWR (cdc.gov)