Source: http://www.klgateshub.com/details/?pub=SUPPORT-for-Patients-and-Communities-Act-Utilizing-Telehealth-Technology-to-Provide-Substance-Use-Disorder-and-Treatments-11-14-2018
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 07:51:24+00:00

Document:
The Support Act does not expressly mandate Medicaid coverage of SUD services and treatments delivered via telehealth. Nonetheless, to date, some states have opted to provide these services under their state plans  or in Medicaid managed care programs. The Support Act does, however, require the federal government to collect, study and disseminate information on the best way to deliver such telehealth services to adult and pediatric Medicaid populations with SUDs.
Additionally, the Support Act contains various provisions on SUD treatments provided through telehealth to pediatric Medicaid populations. For example, through a U.S. Government Accountability Office study, Section 1009 of the Support Act requires the Comptroller General to evaluate Medicaid’s coverage of services and treatment of SUDs for children through telehealth communications and consider the impact of increasing the number of Medicaid providers performing services and treatment via telehealth to children in rural and underserved areas, as well as evaluate the reimbursement rates regarding those services.  The Comptroller General is required to deliver the results of such study to Congress, along with recommendations for any future, additional legislation.  Within one year of enacting the Support Act, the Administrator of CMS is also required to submit a report on how to reduce the barriers to using telehealth services and treatment for SUDs to pediatric Medicaid beneficiaries and address various related issues, including best practices for using telehealth to diagnose children with SUD and the differences between telehealth and in-person services from utilization, cost, and quality perspectives.  The Secretary is required to publish this report on the Department of Health and Human Services’ website.
The Support Act also amends the Controlled Substances Act by setting a timetable for implementation of the Attorney General’s existing authority to “promulgate regulations specifying the limited circumstances in which a special registration [for telemedicine] may be issued.”  As an example, this special registration could allow a practitioner acting within the scope of the practitioner’s license and DEA registration to remotely prescribe Suboxone via telemedicine for patients in rural areas where there are no authorized providers of such services.
K&L Gates’ health care practice can assist health systems and hospitals, and other providers and suppliers in responding to changes implemented by the Support Act and assessing how the Support Act would impact them. We will continue to closely monitor developments related to the Support Act. Please note that this is one in a series of alerts and podcasts from K&L Gates discussing various provisions of the Support Act.
 SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, Pub. L. 115-271, § 2001(a); S.S.A. § 1834(m); 42 U.S.C. § 1395m(m).
 “Distant site” means “site at which the physician or practitioner is located at the time the service is provided via a telecommunications system.” 42 U.S.C. § 1395m(m)(4)(A).
 “Originating site” means site “at which the eligible telehealth individual is located at the time the service is furnished via a telecommunications system….” Id. § 1395m(m)(4)(C).
 42 U.S.C. § 1395m(m)(4)(C)(i), (ii).
 Support Act, § 2001(a); 42 U.S.C. § 1395m(m)(2) & (6).
 Expanding the Use of Telehealth Services for the Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder under the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act Interim Final Rule, CMS, https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2018-24170.pdf (Nov. 5, 2018).
 Federal law requires each State that administers a Medicaid program to develop a State Plan for Medical Assistance that complies with 42 U.S.C. § 1396a. The State Plan and any amendments are submitted to and approved by CMS.
 School-Based Health Centers, HRSA, https://www.hrsa.gov/our-stories/school-health-centers/index.html (Nov. 5, 2018).
 See 21 U.S.C. § 831(h)(2), as amended.

References: § 2001
 § 1834
 § 1395
 § 1395
 § 1395
 § 1395
 § 2001
 § 1395
 § 1396
 § 831