Foley Attorneys Quoted on New Medicaid Telehealth Standards in Massachusetts

Partner Nate Lacktman, Special Counsel Kyle Faget and Associate Alexandra Shalom were quoted in an mHealth Intelligence article, “New Medicaid Telehealth Standards in Massachusetts Draw Criticism,” about new rules designed to allow Medicaid recipients to access mental health services through telehealth that may prove to be more cumbersome than helpful.

In a blog post, the three attorneys say MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program, may have created too many hoops to jump through, thereby scaring providers away from using connected care technologies.

Aside from a restriction to audio-visual technologies, the attorneys point out that health care providers in the state have to be “trained in the provision of services via telehealth, including training in the use of the telehealth equipment.” They also must have a training program in place for employees – neither of which is required under the state’s professional licensing laws and don’t exist in other programs.