A telemedicine bill aimed at expanding remote patient monitoring technology in rural and underserved communities was re-introduced in the Senate this week.
This is the fifth time the bill has been proposed since 2005.
Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and John Thune (R-S.D.), the bills' co-sponsors, are hoping the current environment around health information technology will make the fifth time the charm for the Fostering Independence Through Technology Act.
If passed, the bill would establish pilot programs under Medicare to provide incentives for home health agencies using telemedicine technology. Officials say the bill would allow for improved monitoring of Medicare patients and further reduce program expenditures over time.
In a push toward value-based care, many hospitals face readmission penalties when a Medicare patient is re-admitted to a hospital within a specific time period. Currently, nearly one in five Medicare beneficiaries are re-admitted within a 30-day period. The bill's co-sponsors say telemedicine could bring those numbers down significantly.
"This innovative RPM (remote patient monitoring) technology has the ability to revolutionize patient care and dramatically reduce the amount of money Medicare spends on hospital re-admissions each year," said Thune in a press statement. "Not only could this technology reduce costs and improve health outcomes, but it also offers patients the individual freedom to stay in their homes, reducing costs associated with nursing homes and long-term care facilities."
The American Hospital Association has voiced its support of the telemedicine bill. "The AHA has long advocated that patients receive the right care, in the right setting, at the right time," wrote Rick Pollack, executive vice president of the AHA, in a letter to Thune. "Your legislation advances that objective by giving medical professionals the capability to monitor patients receiving care for specified conditions."
Opponents say this is the wrong time for increasing Medicare expenditures.
"With the national debt at $16 trillion, millions out of work and prices for gas and groceries on the rise, our government can’t continue to spend money we don’t have," House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said in a press statement.
Klobuchar and Thune's bill joins another telemedicine bill, introduced in January, that would increase federal support and payments for telehealth services. According to the American Telemedicine Association, the Telehealth Promotion Act of 2013 would extend benefits of telehealth and mHealth to 75 million Americans.
