When the U.S. President declared a national emergency March 13 to combat spread of the virus that causes COVID-19, the action opened the door for skilled nursing facilities to accept hospital patients who are less severely ill and make beds available for patients in serious condition.
The move will drop the restrictions on critical care access as well as lower the barriers for providers to offer treatment across state lines, especially via telehealth. The move will benefit hospitals in general but is projected to be of particular benefit to rural hospitals that have a limited capacity of inpatient beds.
Click here to read the full statement from CMS administrator Seema Verma at www.cms.gov.
Want to know why home health providers are ramping up their telehealth services? Read these survey results to find out.
