Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of telehealth and virtual care was growing, slowly. But since last March, telehealth use has skyrocketed as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) quickly expanded access to telehealth for Medicare beneficiaries, and many private insurers followed suit. Healthcare organizations that had already adopted value-based care models were able to pivot to telehealth more quickly. In this episode of LeverAGE, ASA talks with a panel of experts about why that’s the case, how the use of virtual care has grown among older patients, what barriers still exist and what healthcare leaders and policymakers should do to remove those barriers and encourage growth in a sustainable way.
Host: Leanne Clark Shirley, PhD, Vice President, Programs & Thought Leadership, American Society on Aging
Guests:
- Amy Herr, MHS, Director of Health Policy, West Health Policy Center, aherr@westhealth.org
- Michael Kurliand, Director of Telehealth, West Health Institute, mkurliand@westhealth.org
- Jennifer DeYoung, Director of Policy, Building Blocks of Health Reform, United States of Care, jdeyoung@usofcare.org
This episode was sponsored by West Health Policy Center
Resources:
- West Health is a family of nonprofit and nonpartisan organizations dedicated to lowering healthcare costs to enable successful aging. Solely funded by philanthropists Gary and Mary West, West Health includes the Gary and Mary West Foundation and the Gary and Mary West Health Institute in San Diego, and the Gary and Mary West Health Policy Center in Washington, DC.
- United States of Care is a nonpartisan organization committed to ensuring that everyone has access to quality, affordable healthcare. The organization aims to drive a unique cross-sector, people-centered approach to prioritizing, creating and advancing state and federal policies that meet the needs of people and result in a more equitable healthcare system.
- Playbook—Older Adults’ Experience of Virtual Care: Action Steps to Increase Access and Equity
- Gary and Mary West PACE
- Avera eCARE Senior Care
- Landmark Health