New Mexico Telehealth Alliance TELEHEALTH RESOURCES | COMMUNITY | PROGRAM SUPPORT Connecting New Mexicans to Better Health. The New Mexico Telehealth Alliance (NMTHA) is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation dedicated to promoting telehealth solutions that deliver quality healthcare throughout the State. The NMTHA is a network of members representing a broad spectrum of public and private healthcare organizations. The NMTHA provides program support enabling members to eff ectively share resources. Board members and officers are all volunteers. Vision: Through the efforts of the NMTHA’s work on policy, quality, and equitable access to telehealth services, New Mexicans will be able to get the care they need when they need it. Mission: Advance effective use, equitable access, and sustainable telehealth service delivery in New Mexico. About Innovating Remote Access to Care Bridging Health Equity Gaps / Disparities AI + Digital Innovation Medicare Telehealth HCA/Turquoise Care Vision & Strategies View Presentations Why does New Mexico need a Telehealth Alliance? Click HERE to learn more... Be part of the solution! Join the Ne w Mexico Telehe alth Alliance Telehealth and telemedicine are no longer an innovative approach to healthcare - they are a necessary part of it. More than ever, access to quality healthcare, especially in New Mexico, is fundamental to the well-being of many communities, especially in rural and territorial areas. Supporting the New Mexico Telehealth Alliance through membership helps ensure access to meaningful information and supports the viability of telehealth services in New Mexico. Membership matters! Benefits of Membership Stay Connected! Stay connected with the NMTHA community by signing up to receive updates and notifications on industry trends, the latest telehealth news, events, and more. Thanks for connecting with NMTHA! Submit

GAO Reports on Telehealth and COVID-19 Flexibility Findings Center for Connected Health Policy June 2021 While the GAO reported telehealth flexibilities as critical to reducing obstacles of care, they also stressed considering its potential to increase program expenditures and stated that the quality of telehealth services has still not been fully analyzed. The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) released testimony May 19th regarding their ongoing assessment of COVID-19 flexibilities within the Medicare and Medicaid programs, as required under federal pandemic response oversight provisions included the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Provided before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, the GAO focused its summarized findings around the effects of program flexibilities and preliminary observations related to telehealth waivers of certain federal requirements, as well as considerations regarding ongoing use. Telehealth waivers included allowing services to be provided remotely in all areas and settings, as well as expanding the types of providers and technologies that could be used, such as audio-only modalities. While the GAO reported telehealth flexibilities as critical to reducing obstacles of care, they also stressed considering its potential to increase program expenditures and stated that the quality of telehealth services has still not been fully analyzed. GAO testimony highlighted Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) data on recent telehealth utilization: -Medicare telehealth services increased from 325,000 services in mid-March to 1.9 million in late-April; then decreased to 1.3 million by June as it continued to steadily drop -Nearly 40% of beneficiaries received office visits through telehealth; nearly 60% received mental health services via telehealth -Internists and family practitioners were the primary provider specialties using telehealth, through which they delivered one-quarter of their services -89 of the 146 newly available types of telehealth services could be furnished via landline phones -More beneficiaries under age 65 received services via telehealth than those over age 65 -More beneficiaries in urban areas received services via telehealth than those in rural areas -Similar proportions of beneficiaries across all racial and ethnic groups received services via telehealth When highlighting potential considerations moving forward, the GAO added that preliminary observations show that due to lack of broadband and digital literacy, access to services via live video telehealth continues to be limited among those with low socioeconomic status, those over age 85, and those in communities of color. Given that CMS information indicated that telehealth services have continued as in-person visits have been able to increase, the GAO also suggested considering the potential for increased spending if payment parity requirements related to telehealth are maintained post-pandemic. In relation to fraud and program integrity, the GAO discussed the inability of CMS to determine many aspects of telehealth services, such as type of modality and specific location data, as well as the suspension of security rules that raise potential medical information privacy issues. In regard to quality of care via telehealth considerations, the GAO cited a study specific to Direct-to-Consumer telehealth companies potentially overprescribing antibiotics as their primary example, adding that CMS is still exploring how to measure quality related to services provided via telehealth. GAO information was based upon interviews of federal and state officials and provider and patient groups regarding their telehealth experiences, in addition to reviews of federal laws and CMS guidance. Additional GAO data and reports can be found on their website. < Previous News Next News >

New FAIR Health White Papers Shows Large Telehealth Utilization Increases Before COVID-19 Center for Connected Health Policy April 2021 Results showed that telehealth utilization increased by 73% from 2018 to 2019 with telehealth claims comprising over one-third of all health care claims in 2019. In its fourth edition of the Healthcare Indicators and Medical Price Index White Paper, FAIR Health found that the fastest area of healthcare utilization growth from 2018 to 2019 occurred for telehealth services. FAIR Health conducted the annual analysis using its data repository of 32 billion claims for patients in commercial insurance plans. Results showed that telehealth utilization increased by 73% from 2018 to 2019 with telehealth claims comprising over one-third of all health care claims in 2019. FAIR Health also noted that the most common claim type for telehealth was for mental health services, bolstering other recent evidence that telehealth utilization continues to grow for behavioral and mental health services. The findings are an important contribution to ongoing policy discussions about where telehealth is going after the pandemic. While most telehealth experts have been paying close attention to telehealth utilization during the pandemic, these findings suggest that the story of telehealth’s rapid growth likely begins in 2019, one year prior to the public health emergency. FAIR Health is a national nonprofit organization that maintains a large database of privately insured healthcare claims data. The organization performs healthcare utilization and cost analyses on market trends for use by researchers, consumers, and industry stakeholders. For more information about FAIR Health's data, view their website. FAIR Health Consumer: https://www.fairhealthconsumer.org/#about FH Healthcare Indicators and FH Medical Price Index 2021: https://s3.amazonaws.com/media2.fairhealth.org/whitepaper/asset/FH%20Healthcare%20Indicators%20and%20FH%20Medical%20Price%20Index%202021--A%20FAIR%20Health%20White%20Paper--FINAL.pdf < Previous News Next News >