Will the end of COVID-19 emergency impact telehealth for Medicaid, Medicare beneficiaries?

During the pandemic, the Public Health Emergency declaration eased restrictions on telemedicine that made it easier for people to seek care without an in-person visit. In 2021, over a third of adults used telemedicine, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Here's what the end of the PHE means for Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries.

When does the public health emergency end?

The COVID-19 public health emergency is set to end at the end of the day on May 11, 2023.

For those on Medicaid, it's important to note that while the PHE's end date is May 11, legislation enacted in December will end the continuous enrollment requirement on March 31.

More:If you're one of 1.4M Missourians on Medicaid, confirm your contact info before April 1

How will Missouri's Medicaid program — MO HealthNet — be affected?

Before the pandemic, MO HealthNet telehealth patients were required to see doctors that were licensed in Missouri and an online or over-the-phone questionnaire was not enough to establish a provider-patient relationship. The PHE waived those two requirements.

MO HealthNet will only see "two notable changes" to telemedicine services once the PHE ends, according to Heather Dolce, communications director for Missouri's Department of Social Services:

• Telemedicine providers must be fully licensed in Missouri.
• Patients will no longer simply be able to complete a questionnaire to establish a relationship with the provider. The relationship may be established via telemedicine, but the visit will require an interview and examination as thorough as though they had been done in person.

"Missouri Medicaid participants have benefitted greatly from access to Telemedicine and our providers have embraced this delivery model, particularly in areas where access to providers can be difficult," said Todd Richardson, MO HealthNet division director. "We are committed to preserving access to telemedicine on a permanent basis moving forward.”

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How will Medicare be affected by the end of the PHE?

Before the pandemic, Medicare participants' ability to access telehealth was limited by their geographic region and whether they were able to get to a medical facility for a telehealth visit. Waivers during the public health emergency afforded broad access to telehealth, even within a patient's home.

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, many "Americans — particularly those in rural areas and others who struggle to find access to care — have come to rely on" the current telehealth flexibilities. Those provisions will remain in place until Dec. 31, 2024, as a result of the bipartisan Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, which was passed by congress in December 2022.

Among the flexibilities extended until Dec. 31, 2024, are:

• Medicare participants can access telehealth services in any geographic area in the United States.
• Medicare participants can stay in their homes for telehealth visits that Medicare pays for rather than traveling to a health care facility to conduct the visit.
• Certain telehealth visits can be delivered audio-only (such as a telephone) if someone is unable to use both audio and video, such as a smartphone or computer.

Susan Szuch is the health and public policy reporter for the Springfield News-Leader. Follow her on Twitter @szuchsm. Story idea? Email her at sszuch@gannett.com.