Bloomberg Health Law Reporter Outlook 2016 – Issues Driving the Healthcare System

This report will likely be emphasized by providers who are looking to increase the quality of care that they offer. Health Plan Regulation With continued changes brought about by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), healthcare attorneys advice to health plan clients in the coming year may change, depending on the viability of the ACA. Health plans continue to face enormous challenges, ranging from data issues, cybersecurity risks, and antitrust concerns. Issues with narrow networks and other plans that limit the number of in-network providers will remain an issue as health insurance plans struggle to balance access with the need to control for costs, and remain viable as insurance companies themselves. Telemedicine Telemedicine is likely to have a larger impact and larger role to play in the upcoming year, considering the development of technologies that allow more remote access to healthcare providers, and insurers' expansion of coverage for such services. However, there are still many legal hurdles to overcome. For example, the failure to "properly structure telemedicine agreements, including credentialing providers who are rendering actual services to patients, is a chronic problem that will only get worse." Another legal concern is the ability to secure health information that is transmitted and stored by providers, telemedicine entities, and others in the chain of electrons. Lastly, the expansion of telemedicine relies, in part, on state licensing requirements. I...
Source: Policy and Medicine - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs