Source: Health Policy Institute of Ohio
The federal government eased telehealth requirements at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic so more Americans could get remote care with fewer obstacles.
A report released last week by federal government investigators found that nearly $128 million in telehealth claims submitted during the first year of the pandemic may have been fraudulent (Source: “‘Guardrails’ Needed? Telehealth Fraud Cost Medicare $128M in First Year of COVID Pandemic, Feds Say,” USA Today, September 11, 2022).
Investigators said less than 1% of the 742,000 Medicare-certified doctors and other providers of telehealth services submitted roughly a half million problematic claims. Yet the billings are concerning enough that government investigators urged the Biden administration to tighten oversight to ensure millions of Americans can access remote care while safeguarding taxpayer dollars.
Before 2020, Medicare largely restricted telehealth to people who accessed medical care via video and audio connections set up in rural clinics. Amid the pandemic, Medicare allowed recipients in cities and suburbs to get care remotely, often from their home, via a phone call or a video chat. Medicare also more than doubled the types of services eligible for reimbursement to make it easier for people to get care without the risk of COVID-19 exposure during a visit to a clinic or hospital.