In the past few months, millions of Americans have experienced a first, tantalizing glimpse of the promise of telehealth.1 The use of telehealth – the remote delivery of care and monitoring of patients’ health using digital telecommunications tools – has surged during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, as policymakers and insurers across the country have eased…
Publications
The pandemic has thrown the shortcomings and inequities of America’s health care system into sharp relief. These include the extreme vulnerability of the elderly in nursing homes; the poor health status of impoverished and minority communities; regulatory obstacles to deploying telemedicine; and, a lack of basic medical equipment and surge capacity in hospitals. There’s never…
Originally published June 15, 2020, and most recently updated September 17, 2020. As the coronavirus pandemic enters its 9th month, the United States continues to lead the world in deaths and infection rates. The hard truth is America ranks dead last when it comes to responding effectively to Covid-19. As of mid-September, more than 200,000…
Press
Over the last few months, millions of Americans have used telehealth services — the remote delivery of care and health monitoring using digital telecommunications tools — to get health care. Federal and state policymakers have made it easier to access telehealth during the pandemic to keep people home and safe but there is no reason…
Contact: Carter Christensen, cchristensen@ppionline.org WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) has released a new white paper in partnership with Americans for Prosperity (AFP), calling on Congress to make telehealth reforms permanent amid and after the COVID-19 emergency -- an unlikely partnership in a time of great need for innovation and leadership. A bipartisan pair of Senators shared…
We can contain the spread of COVID-19 — but the federal government must step up before it’s too late
States and localities are proceeding with “opening” their economies despite the fact that most states have not met the re-opening criteria put forward by the White House. In order to head off spikes in cases, states and localities will need aggressive testing, contact tracing, and isolation programs. Testing is only as good as what you do with that…
Blog
Over the August recess, I published a paper with Americans For Prosperity (shocking, I know) to highlight where there is bipartisan consensus on telehealth. Since the pandemic began, many telehealth regulations have been lifted and we explained what changes should be made permanent, what changes should go, and what additional policies could make care easier to access…
The Trump administration’s hospital price transparency rule, upheld by a district court judge this week, will require hospitals to post publicly the rates they negotiate with insurers beginning in January. President Trump called it a “BIG VICTORY for patients — Federal court UPHOLDS hospital price transparency. Patients deserve to know the price of care BEFORE they enter the…
Back in December, Congress failed to reach an agreement on “surprise billing” legislation. A surprise bill is when patients get an out-of-network bill from a provider at an in-network facility. Lawmakers couldn’t decide if an arbitration model — where billing disagreements would be sent to a third-party review board — or if a benchmark model — where…
