White House Announces Expansion of Medicare To 135 New Services
WASHINGTON || The White House on Tuesday announced that under President Donald Trump's administration, medicare has been expanded to include more than 135 new services. An official statement said that these new services include home visits, physical therapy, emergency department visits, mental health counselling, substance abuse treatment, all through Telehealth.
It further said that from February to April, primary care visits conducted, using telehealth went up from a mere 0.1% to 43%.
President Trump had in early august signed an executive order to expand medicare in the United States of America, "to provide millions of citizens with healthcare services during a global pandemic".
Likewise, the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense have taken action to expand tele-health services for veterans, active military, and their families.
Through this order, the President took action to extend the availability of certain tele-health services after the current public health emergency ends. These tele-health expansions build on the work the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has done during the public health emergency to more than double allowable tele-health services, greatly expanding access to high quality care.
The Administration has also allowed additional types of practitioners to provide tele-health services and additional telecommunications applications. Likewise, the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense have taken action to expand tele-health services for veterans, active military, and their families.
At this critical time, President Trump is using every tool to ensure rural Americans have access to medical care during the COVID-19 pandemic, an official said while pointing out how the expansion of tele-health services especially offers benefits to Americans living in rural communities, who might otherwise not have access to these services.