Medicare and Medicaid will no longer require a doctor’s prescription for a COVID-19 screening
Medicare and Medicaid recipients can now get tested for COVID-19 without a written order from a physician, which makes it easier for individuals to get screenings in temporary drive-in sites and pharmacies.
“Testing is vital, and CMS’s changes will make getting tested easier and more accessible for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries,” CMS Administrator Seema Verma said in disclosing the change that will be in effect throughout the public health emergency.
The report means that any health care professional, including pharmacists who are enrolled in Medicare as a covered laboratory, will be able to order a COVID-19 testing kit and CMS will cover it free of charge. CMS will also cover any tests individuals take at home and some antibody testing to help determine whether someone may have developed an immunity to the virus and therefore might not be at immediate risk for COVID-19 reinfection.
Testing expanded for shut-ins, nursing homes
Medicare beneficiaries whose doctors believe they should be tested for COVID-19 but who are not able to leave their homes will be able to get test kits delivered to them, thanks to the loosening of regulations of federal health system restrictions during the pandemic.
In addition, Medicare will pay for health companies to collect samples from nursing homes, which house many seniors.
“We hope that this will encourage more testing of our nursing home residents, who are among the most vulnerable,” Verma said on a call with reporters Monday night. “We know that over 150 nursing homes have been affected. By increasing testing, we can isolate those patients that have been impacted and keep other residents healthy.”
CMS had earlier announced an extension of telehealth services, but Verma said those standards were in the process of being lowered. Virtual emergency room visits will eventually be allowed and doctors will also be paid for clinical phone calls with their patients. Designed to eliminate any issues Medicare enrollees might have when accessing technology used in more traditional telehealth services, CMS is also expanding the use of telehealth for inpatient rehabilitation, hospice care and home health, Verma said.
In the situation of the lowered standards, hospitals will, for example, be able to move patients to temporary sites — such as tented operations, dormitories and outpatient centers — to make more room in main hospitals for COVID-19 patients. Standards regarding the ability of hospitals to hire local physicians and other health professionals to meet the ongoing surging demand are also being temporarily suspended.
For more information: Click Here
References:
Bunis, Dena, AARP 2020, accessed 5 January 2021, < https://www.aarp.org/health/medicare-insurance/info-2020/coronavirus-medicare-costs.html >
