| governor_announces_telehealth_payment_parity_in_response_to_coronavirus_outbreak | Governor Announces Telehealth Payment Parity in Response to Coronavirus Outbreak | Latest_News | Shared_Content/News/Membership_Memo/20200326/governor_announces_telehealth_payment_parity_in_response_to_coronavirus_outbreak | <div class="col-md-12">
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<h5>March 26, 2020</h5>
<h2>Governor Announces Telehealth Payment Parity in Response to Coronavirus Outbreak</h2>
<p><strong>Updated March 26, 2020</strong>: The WSMA thanks Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee, Health Care Authority Director Sue Birch, and Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler for their actions to ensure fair reimbursement for services that are delivered via telemedicine. Read our <a href="javascript://[Uploaded files/Resources/COVID19/wsma_telemedicine_parity_thank_you_letter.pdf]">thank you letter</a>, delivered March 26.</p>
<p>Late Wednesday night (March 25), Gov. Jay Inslee signed a proclamation providing payment parity for services delivered via telemedicine. Specifically, the governor made <a href="[@]Shared_Content/News/Press_Release/2020/Physicians_Urge_Governor_to_Allow_Telemedicine_Payment_Parity_Bill_to_Go_into_Effect_Immediately_">implementation of Senate Bill 5385</a> effective immediately, which requires state-regulated insurance carriers to reimburse telemedicine services on par with what they would reimburse for covered services delivered in person. The order specifically prohibits health carriers from:</p>
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<li>Reimbursing in-network providers for telemedicine claims for medical necessary covered service at a rate lower than the contracted rate that would be paid if the services had been delivered through traditional (in-person) methods.</li>
<li>Denying a telemedicine claim from an in-network provider for a medically necessary covered service due to an existing provider contract term with that provider that denies reimbursement for services provided through telemedicine.</li>
<li>Establishing requirements for the payment of telemedicine services that are inconsistent with the emergency orders, rules, or technical advisories to carriers issued by the Office of Insurance Commissioner.</li>
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<p>The OIC on Tuesday, March 24 issued an order that allows all in-network providers to use non-HIPAA compliant communication platforms to provide patient care under certain circumstances (<a href="https://www.insurance.wa.gov/sites/default/files/documents/emergency-order-20-02_3.pdf?utm_content=&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_name=&amp;utm_source=govdelivery&amp;utm_term=">read the OIC order</a>). This aligns with a <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/special-topics/emergency-preparedness/notification-enforcement-discretion-telehealth/index.html">recent federal announcement</a> around HIPAA enforcement discretion during the public health emergency. The order goes on to read that "All Regulated Entities shall treat the use of audio-only telephone as telemedicine, despite contrary language in RCW 48.43.735(8)(g)." The Washington State Health Care Authority took similar steps for our state's Medicaid and state employee plans on Monday, March 24 (<a href="https://www.hca.wa.gov/health-care-services-and-supports/hca-supports-increased-telehealth-options-medicaid-clients-public">read the HCA announcement</a>).</p>
<p>At the national level, Medicare has also announced payment parity for most telemedicine services (<a href="https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/medicare-telemedicine-health-care-provider-fact-sheet">read the CMS announcement</a>). The WSMA is reaching out to our Congressional delegation urging them to require telehealth parity policies for ERISA plans that cannot be regulated by the state - including for telephone visits, which, as we've heard from a number of our members, are reimbursed poorly.</p>
<p>We expect to see more movement in the days ahead on this issue - we will keep you apprised as more parity policies are announced. The WSMA thanks Gov. Inslee, the OIC, HCA, CMS and insurance carriers such as Regence, United, and Molina, which had voluntarily adopted payment parity in advance of the orders, for taking these important steps during the COVID-19 crisis.</p>
<p>Be sure to visit our <a href="[@]WSMA/Resources/COVID-19_Response/Telehealth_and_Reimbursement/WSMA/Resources/COVID-19/Prepare_Your_Practice_for_COVID-19/Prepare_Your_Practice_for_COVID-19.aspx?hkey=ed7e0075-97a3-489f-b858-92a741fc58ae">COVID-19 Telehealth and Reimbursement page</a> for more resources and information, including other breaking updates.</p>
</div> | 3/26/2020 12:00:00 AM | 1/1/0001 12:00:00 AM |
| state_response_to_covid_19_intensifies_wsma_presses_physician_concerns | State Response to COVID-19 Intensifies; WSMA Presses Physician Concerns | Latest_News | Shared_Content/News/Membership_Memo/20200326/state_response_to_covid_19_intensifies_wsma_presses_physician_concerns | <div class="col-md-12">
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<h5>March 26, 2020</h5>
<h2>State Response to COVID-19 Intensifies; WSMA Presses Physician Concerns</h2>
<p>WSMA leadership and staff have been working around the clock to mobilize our advocacy in light of the worsening COVID-19 crisis. Gov. Jay Inslee's emergency order this week for Washingtonians to "<a href="https://www.governor.wa.gov/sites/default/files/proclamations/20-25%20Coronovirus%20Stay%20Safe-Stay%20Healthy%20%28tmp%29%20%28002%29.pdf" target="_blank">stay home and stay healthy</a>" - mandating the closure of non-essential businesses and ordering Washington residents to stay at home and avoid any unnecessary travel - reflected the urgency felt at the WSMA and by many in the physician community. In a <a href="[@]WSMA/Shared_Content/News/Press_Release/2020/WSMA_Supports_Gov._Inslee_s_Stay_Home_and_Stay_Healthy_Order_in__Response_to_COVID-19.aspx">press release</a> expressing support for the order, WSMA President William K. Hirota, MD, said, "We do not currently have the capability to test and isolate those infected with the virus, so we must do all that we can to blunt the curve. … We thank the governor for taking this courageous step and we join him in urging the public to listen."</p>
<p>Gov. Inslee and Washington lawmakers continue to lobby U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for more personal protective equipment, with a shipment from the national stockpile arriving last weekend. For now, DOH is prioritizing supplies using a <a href="https://www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/NovelCoronavirusOutbreak2020/PPEPrioritization">tiering system</a> based on confirmed case management. We are pursuing several approaches, including assessing independent/rural practice needs and working with the state and municipalities on coordinating PPE donations, to help ensure more supplies can be secured and distributed to physician practices soon. It is imperative for practices and clinics throughout the state to have the resources they need to continue to operate, so that they can alleviate pressure on our state's hospitals.</p>
<p>The governor’s ban on elective surgeries and procedures is now in effect. As <a href="https://www.governor.wa.gov/sites/default/files/20-24%20COVID-19%20non-urgent%20medical%20procedures%20%28tmp%29.pdf?utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=govdelivery" target="_blank">detailed in the proclamation</a>, Gov. Inslee's order applies to hospitals, ambulatory surgery facilities (ASC), dental, orthodontic and endodontic offices in Washington state. We want to assure members that the proclamation only applies to the entities listed in the actual proclamation. While hospital outpatient clinics are referenced, it is to distinguish them from the hospital setting. Clinics—hospital based or otherwise—are not covered by this proclamation. If a clinic operates as an ASC, they should follow the guidance and cancel/postpone elective/non-urgent procedures unless in their medical judgment a condition will be made worse. DOH has indicated it wants patients to continue to receive care in their communities, whether in person or virtually.</p>
<p>Washington state has been a leader in its handling of the COVID-19 crisis - and now, the state's emergency response has a new leader. The governor has named retired Navy Vice Admiral Raquel C. Bono as <a href="https://www.governor.wa.gov/news-media/inslee-names-retired-navy-vice-admiral-raquel-c-bono-head-washington-state-covid-19">head of the Washington state COVID-19 health care response team</a>. Vice Admiral Bono will advise the governor and state agencies on actions needed to address the capacity and strain across the health care system. The WSMA has met with Vice Admiral Bono to express our concerns with PPE, testing and supplies, and will meet with her on a weekly basis as she maps out our state's collective response to the virus.</p>
</div> | 3/26/2020 12:00:00 AM | 1/1/0001 12:00:00 AM |
| urge_lawmakers_to_support_physician_practices_during_covid_19_response | Urge Lawmakers to Support Physician Practices During COVID-19 Response | Latest_News | Shared_Content/News/Membership_Memo/20200326/urge_lawmakers_to_support_physician_practices_during_covid_19_response | <div class="col-md-12">
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<h5>March 26, 2020</h5>
<h2>Urge Lawmakers to Support Physician Practices During COVID-19 Response</h2>
<p>Washington state physicians have embraced their professionalism in its highest form during the COVID-19 crisis and put the interests of those they serve above their own. We know that many of you have done so at risk of your health, the health of your family, and possibly at a great financial loss to your practice.</p>
<p>The WSMA has been advocating at both the national and the state level to not only get more test and supplies into Washington state, but to ensure that physicians can keep their doors open as they experience dramatic shifts in volume and have moved to delay elective surgeries and non-emergency procedures. Lawmakers need to hear your personal stories as well.</p>
<p>We encourage you to reach out to your elected officials, sharing your experience of testing and treating COVID-19 patients and the impact the virus has had on your practice by clicking the Take Action button below. Also, the WSMA is collecting data on the economic impact the virus has had on practices. Please complete our <a href="https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CPZMLFY">short survey here</a>.</p>
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<a class="TextButton Button" href="https://takeaction.wsma.org/take-action-support-physician-practices-during-covid-19/">Take Action</a>
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</div> | 3/26/2020 12:00:00 AM | 1/1/0001 12:00:00 AM |