HHS will continue to allow clinicians to provide telehealth services across state lines for covered services, including diagnostic tests, to fight the spread of COVID-19.
On Dec. 3, HHS amended the Declaration under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act to allow healthcare providers to order or administer "covered countermeasures" to COVID-19, such as diagnostic tests that received emergency use authorization from the FDA across state lines.
Many states now allow healthcare providers to deliver telehealth services from out-of-state during the pandemic, or generally, and the amendment solidifies telehealth coverage for COVID-19 countermeasures, regardless of where the patient and clinician reside.
The amendment preempts state laws prohibiting telehealth across state lines. The department said it aims to release more information about how the amendment affects Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program payment for telehealth across state lines.
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