The COVID-19 pandemic shone a bright light on the need for and utility of telehealth, which in turn prompted the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to temporarily expand telehealth coverage. Some of those coverage policies are set to expire when the public health emergency ends, and a group of stakeholders, including the American College of Cardiology, are urging Congress to pass legislation that would make some of these benefits permanent, a potential boon for many telehealth entities.
The latest global regulatory news, changes and updates affecting medical devices and technologies, including: Neovasc snares second patent term extension; CMS drops CT image quality proposal; TGA opens docket for nanomaterials regulation; ATA supports OIG statement on telehealth.
The Senate passed by a vote of 96-1 the spending bill for the outbreak of the new coronavirus (COVID-19), which will be on President Donald Trump’s desk by week’s end. The bill provides $7.8 billion in new funds to tackle the outbreak and another $490 million in existing funds for telehealth, all with the aim of speeding the response to the pathogen.