TAFA Statement on HHS-OIG Report Finding Telehealth Providers Complied With Medicare Guidelines
During the First Nine Months of the Pandemic, Sample Shows No Evidence of Fraud or Abuse in More Than 95% of Telehealth Services
Washington, D.C. – Telehealth Access for America (TAFA) issued the following statement in response to a new report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) released Wednesday that found telehealth providers were largely in compliance with Medicare requirements from March 2020 through November 2020.
On the findings, Telehealth Access for America spokesperson Julia Mirich said, “The latest HHS-OIG report reiterates what we have already known – increasing telehealth access does not result in increased fraud or abuse, as further evidenced by the overwhelming number of services in compliance in this report. Expanded access to virtual care has resulted in vast benefits for Medicare beneficiaries. Congress must urgently act to permanently safeguard patient access to telehealth – without burdensome restrictions.”
As reported by Bloomberg Law’s Ganny Belloni, “[The report] found providers followed Medicare billing rules for 105 out of 110 telehealth services sampled.” On the findings, “William Sarraille, regulatory consultant at Sarraille & Associates and former attorney at Sidley Austin, said in a statement that the report did well to showcase that telehealth is not much more prone to fraud or improper billing than traditional sources of care.”
This reiterates previous HHS-OIG reports that telehealth does not lead to increased fraud and analyses finding no evidence concerning billing practices among 99.98 percent of Medicare beneficiary telehealth providers.
Read the full report HERE, Bloomberg Law’s coverage HERE, and learn more about how Congress can act to permanently protect patients’ access to telehealth HERE.
ABOUT TELEHEALTH ACCESS FOR AMERICA
Telehealth Access for America (TAFA) is a public education campaign supported by leaders in health care committed to better care, expanded patient choice, and protecting access to critical telehealth services. Learn more and take action today at www.telehealthaccessforamerica.org.