CMS Unveils Strategy to Improve Rural Healthcare

On Tuesday the CMS announced its first Rural Health Strategy, which looks to improve access to and quality of care in rural areas. CMS Administrator Seema Verma said the effort looks to “apply a rural lens to the vision and work of the agency” and was the culmination of input from rural providers and beneficiaries.

VA Finalizes Interstate Licensing Rule that Will ‘Open the Aperture' for Telehealth

The Department of Veterans Affairs finalized a much-anticipated rule that allows providers to treat patients across state lines using telehealth, a critical element of a virtual care initiative launched last year. The new regulation will allow the health system more leeway to integrate telehealth visits as a routine part of patient care.

CMS Encourages Eligible Suppliers to Participate in Expanded Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program Model

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in April expanded the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program (MDPP), a national performance-based payment model offering a new approach to type 2 diabetes prevention in eligible Medicare beneficiaries with an indication of pre-diabetes. For the first time, both traditional healthcare providers and community-based organizations can enroll as Medicare suppliers of health behavior change services.

Food as Medicine Pilot Program Under Way

Researchers from the University of California/San Francisco and Stanford University are conducting a three-year study to see if providing healthy meals to 1,000 Medi-Cal patients with congestive heart failure or Type 2 diabetes reduces hospital readmission rates and referrals to long-term care compared to 4,000 patients who don’t get the food, the New York Times reports.

Amazon is Exploring the Role of Alexa in Chronic Disease Care

In a not-at-all surprising move from Amazon, an internal team is exploring how Alexa can help consumers manage chronic diseases and maintain wellness, according to a report from CNBC. An “internal document” obtained by the news outlet indicates that Amazon is continuing to move forward with its multifaceted plans for the healthcare industry by standing up a “health & wellness” team within its Alexa division.