Telehealth added to delay of Medicaid changes

A bill that would postpone certain Medicaid authorization and payment changes was amended and advanced from select file March 25.

LB1076, introduced by Lincoln Sen. Kathy Campbell, would require that proposed changes in Medicaid authorization and payment for medically necessary home health services and reimbursement rates be delayed until the state Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has reviewed the results of other state’s pilot programs.

The bill would mandate that there be no reduction in reimbursement rates and no changes in limitations on services for Medicaid home health. Services that would be retained would include, but not be limited to, more than one home health visit in a day to provide skilled nursing services, nursing services and aide services.

Omaha Sen. Jeremy Nordquist offered an amendment, adopted 26-1, that added provisions of his LB1078 relating to telehealth service provision in Nebraska. The amendment would update the definition of telehealth—the electronic exchange of information—for the purpose of monitoring a patient from a remote location and transmitting patient data electronically to a health care practitioner for analysis and storage.

The amendment also would clarify that the reimbursement rate for a telehealth consultation be set at least as high as the Medicaid rate for a comparable in-person consultation regardless of the distance between the health care practitioner and the patient.

Nordquist said DHHS currently prohibits Medicaid reimbursement for telehealth services if a comparable in-person service is available within 30 miles. Many Medicaid eligible individuals in rural areas have difficulty accessing care under the current restriction, he said, due to long distances and transportation limitations.

Allowing the elderly and medically fragile to access health care from their homes has been shown to reduce hospitalizations and health care costs and improve clinical outcomes, he said.

“This would be a step in the right direction for our Medicaid services,” Nordquist said.

Following adoption of a technical amendment offered by Campbell, senators advanced LB1076 to final reading by voice vote.