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1 1 (May 20, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdamm0001 and id is 1 raw text is: FF. ' ,iE S .r, i t May 20, 2020 Delivery of VA Telehealth Services During COVID-19 The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is responsible for providing health care benefits to eligible veterans. In FY2020, about 9.3 million veterans were enrolled in VA health care (https://go.usa.gov/xvFTz). Of those enrolled in the VHA, approximately 7.1 million of them received health care services. During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, both routine and urgent in-person health care services are either being postponed or shifted to telehealth by the VHA for those veterans who (1) do not have COVID-19 diagnoses, (2) are not exhibiting symptoms of the disease, and (3) are not at high risk of being affected by the disease. (To learn more about VA's response to COVID-19, see CRS Report R46340, Federal Response to COVID-19: Department of Veterans Affairs.) Telehealth generally refers to health care providers' use of information and communication technology to provide a health care service. This In Focus provides an overview of veterans' access to VA telehealth services and discusses two funding activities that aim to assist veterans with obtaining telehealth-related infrastructure during the pandemic. Veterans who are eligible for VA health care are eligible to access telehealth services through the VA. (To learn more about VA eligibility, see CRS Report R42747, Health Care for Veterans: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions.) In addition, during covered disasters and emergencies, the Department of Veterans Affairs Emergency Preparedness Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-287, as amended), among other things, allows the VA to provide health care services to veterans without regard to whether they are enrolled in VA care. Section 1785 of title 38 of U.SC. defines covered disasters and emergencies as those that are declared by the * U.S. President under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (P.L. 100-707, as amended) or * Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services under Section 2812 of the Public Health Service Act. Therefore, the VA may provide health care services to veterans who are not currently enrolled in VA care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible veterans either must be responding to, involved in, or otherwise affected by the disaster or emergency to be eligible for care under this provision of law. VA Tc0k;'e,,dh rs pay- A telehealth copayment (copay) refers to the out-of-pocket costs that a veteran patient pays for a telehealth encounter. The Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-154), among other things, allows the VA Secretary to waive veteran patients' copays for telehealth. As of April 6, 2020, veterans do not have to pay copays during the pandemic (https://go.usa.gov/ xvF6j). ,VA eknk-mad In FY2020, the VA obligated $1.06 billion to its Telehealth Program, which is about a 4% increase from the FY2019 level of $1.02 billion (https://go.usa.gov/xvJCr). In FY2019, the VA provided 2.6 million telehealth episodes of care to more than 900,000 veterans, of whom 44% were rural veterans. Veterans can access more than 50 different health care specialties via telehealth including primary care, mental health, rehabilitation, dermatology, and sleep medicine. Veterans who seek individual, group, marriage and family counseling can access those through telehealth. The VHA provides telehealth services to veteran patients in their communities from any location in the United States, including U.S. territories and the District of Columbia. The VA MISSION Act (P.L. 115-182) authorizes this provision of telehealth delivery. However, the VA has not yet implemented telehealth in all VA medical facilities such as Vet Centers. Of the 1,200 VHA facilities, telehealth services are available at 900 sites of care. The VA has instructed all of its facilities to attempt to transpire their activities through telehealth in order to achieve the goal of meeting the health care needs of ambulatory veteran patients. On May 12, 2020, the VA announced that veterans who need same-day urgent care for minor illnesses or injuries during the pandemic may access those services via telehealth (phone or video-based visits) from VA providers and in-network community clinic providers (https://go.usa.gov/xvFA5). A telehealth modality refers to the mode in which a telehealth visit transpires. Veterans can access VA telehealth services via three telehealth modalities: (1) home telehealth, (2) store-and-forward telehealth, and (3) clinical video telehealth. Home telehealth (HT) modality allows a VA provider who is not located in the same location as a veteran patient to provide the patient with daily case management services for his or her chronic medical conditions, such as chronic heart disease or diabetes. Store-and-forward telehealth (SFT) modality facilitates the interpretation of patients' clinical information by allowing a VA provider who is not located in the same location as a veteran patient to assist another VA provider K~:> gognpo goo g , q 'S a X 11L1\LXW1kJ\W,

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