The American Telemedicine Association, coupling the release of the proposed ACO rule with ATA 2011, has called on CMS to waive the ‘restriction-riddled’ Medicare telemedicine statute and to implement five specific changes:
1. Medical videoconferencing for the 35 million beneficiaries who live in metropolitan areas
2. Store-and-forward of medical images for the 43 million beneficiaries who don’t live in Alaska or Hawaii
3. Physicians to judge the appropriate ACO use of telemedicine for otherwise covered services
4. Home-based medical videoconferencing
5. Otherwise covered therapy services to be delivered via telehealth
ATA press release. ATA full text letter to CMS head Donald Berwick.