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HLCCompendium
HLCCompendium
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NDHI<br />
NAT IONAL DIALOGUE FOR<br />
Healthcare Innovation<br />
Value Delivered<br />
Inclusion of a telemedicine benefit for appropriate<br />
illnesses will lead to:<br />
• Increased access to safe and high quality healthcare<br />
• Decreased costs<br />
• Reduced use of emergency facilities for non-emergent<br />
illnesses Increased quality of life<br />
These telemedicine benefits have already been determined<br />
and validated by independent third parties. One<br />
such study conducted by Red Quill Consulting, titled<br />
“Assessment of the Feasibility and Cost of Replacing<br />
In-Person Care with Acute Care Telehealth Services,”<br />
estimated that:<br />
• Medicare can save an average of approximately<br />
$45 per visit by replacing routine primary care visits<br />
with telehealth<br />
• The reimbursement of telehealth benefits would be<br />
unlikely to yield overutilization<br />
• The study concluded that the addition of telehealth<br />
services in the traditional Medicare fee-for-service<br />
program will not increase overall costs and will<br />
instead result in cost savings if telehealth visits<br />
are substituted for in-person acute care, when<br />
medically appropriate<br />
Teladoc’s study with Veracity Healthcare Analytics<br />
showed that, for commercial markets, telemedicine<br />
decreased 30-day episode-based spending by an<br />
average $191 compared to an office visit, and $2661<br />
compared to an emergency room visit. The weighted<br />
average of these cost savings is $673 per visit. These<br />
savings would translate into hundreds of millions of<br />
dollars for Medicare, along with the following benefits:<br />
• Reduces pressures on primary care providers<br />
• Decreases utilization overall within the health<br />
care system<br />
• Provides access solutions for rural patients<br />
• Leads to a more complete medical record<br />
• Enhances care coordination<br />
• Increases quality of care<br />
Path Forward<br />
Teladoc continues to advocate for the inclusion of<br />
telemedicine in Medicare reimbursement, with an<br />
ultimate goal of complete inclusion. Future efforts will<br />
also focus on validating an appropriate reimbursement<br />
level for these services that will drive more efficient<br />
use of resources and decrease costs.<br />
Inclusion of Telemedicine in Medicare<br />
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