Historic Payer Investments of 2022: CMS, HRSA Continue to Drive Support of RHC’s and Remote Care Management
Blog brought to you by our partner MD Revolution
“Since March of 2021, HRSA has awarded approximately $6 billion to health centers to support and expand COVID-19 vaccination, testing, and treatment for populations at higher risk for COVID-19; nearly $1 billion in major construction to increase health care access in health centers and approximately $32 million to enhance COVID-19 related training and technical assistance support.” (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2022)
Government payers continue to invest in programs that improve equitable access to health care for the medically underserved, geographically isolated, and economically vulnerable.
With the highest slated Chronic Care Management (CCM) reimbursement rate of 2022 committed to RHC’s and FQHC’s, ongoing Expansion of Rural Behavioral Healthcare Access, and recent news that HHS Announced $90 Million to Support New Data-Driven Approaches to Health Centers, government payers continue to assert their support of expanding access to care through remote care delivery.
Rural Health Centers, specifically, are not like other providers, by way of pay structure, unique access challenges and patient populations with a high concentration of Medicare and Medicaid patients. Through Care Management programs, CMS is enabling RHC’s to offer CCM and Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) together, now on a much larger scale, saving money, expanding care, and delivering quality.
Backed by significant experience and now a robust, bi-directional integration with Azalea Health, RevUp by MD Revolution is a customizable solution for RHC’s with any budget, specializing in HRSA grants for Remote Patient Monitoring. RPM is an effective way to ensure populations with chronic conditions receive the continual care they require–whether they’re at home or in the clinic. By offering Chronic Care Management and Remote Patient Monitoring together, all integrated within Azalea, RevUp provides Rural Health Centers with an opportunity to maximize grant dollars for remote care and fuel revenue through significantly increased Care Management code G0511.
What does this mean for your RHC?
Medical practices have been continuously faced with higher cost of delivery and lower reimbursement in Fee for Service. Coupled with the unique challenges faced by RHC’s, such as revenue diversification and accessibility to rural and low-income communities, RHC administrators face exceptional challenges maintaining their long-term financial viability. Care Management programs like CCM, RPM and AWV have emerged as an excellent opportunity to capture time spent and higher reimbursement with an often underserved, existing patient base.
CMS is incentivizing providers to expand their reach to patients with chronic conditions, economic vulnerabilities and geographical challenges, and rewarding providers furnishing care coordination and virtual care. RHC’s offering both RPM and CCM services have a unique opportunity to diversify revenue streams, mitigate risk, and provide a complete care management program to their chronically ill patient population.
“Medicare has validated what we have known all along; care management works,” said Paul Huffman, VP of Sales and Business Development at MD Revolution. “As we move forward in 2022 we are excited to expand our services, help more patients, and get connected devices into homes.”
Chronic care management is currently a valuable, revenue-generating service. The actions CMS has taken and continued HRSA grant distribution in 2022 will only further enhance this value.
To learn more about expanded 2022 CMS Care Management reimbursement, download the guide.
About MD Revolution + Azalea Health
As a strategic partner, MD Revolution’s Chronic Care Management and Remote Patient Monitoring solutions provide a seamless experience for the practice, fully integrated with Azalea’s electronic health records, revenue cycle management, data insights, and telehealth solutions designed for rural and community practices and hospitals. Quick to deploy and intuitive to use, our partnership ensures better care coordination and communication – enabling better outcomes and a meaningful competitive advantage. Learn more at https://mdrevolution.com/partner/azalea/
