Medicare generally only covers telehealth in limited situations and for certain beneficiaries. However, recent legislation allows the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) to temporarily expand telehealth coverage and access, in part by waiving some of Medicare’s rules, such as originating site and geographic restrictions, during the coronavirus public health emergency. On March 17, HHS released guidance, including a fact sheet and FAQs, implementing this policy and appropriately applying it to all Medicare-approved telehealth services.

This week, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Health advanced the Beneficiary Enrollment Notification and Eligibility Simplification (BENES) Act (H.R. 2477). Next steps for the bill include consideration by the full Committee.

This week, as the number of COVID-19 (also called coronavirus) cases continues to grow across the U.S., policymakers in Washington D.C. took steps to ensure people with Medicare can safely access needed care.

In January, the Supreme Court lifted a temporary injunction that had been blocking the Trump administration’s “public charge” immigration rule. That meant the policy could move forward in every state except Illinois, where a separate injunction was holding up the rule until Friday, when the Supreme Court struck it down as well. That decision cleared the way for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to implement the policy nationwide. DHS officially began enforcement on Monday, February 24.

In another setback for the Trump administration’s plan for the Medicaid program, a federal appeals court ruled last week that Arkansas cannot impose onerous work and reporting requirements on Medicaid recipients as a condition of receiving coverage. In its decision, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Court of Appeals unanimously rejected the administration’s claim that work requirements promote a primary objective of Medicaid.

A new article from Kaiser Health News (KHN), “What To Do If Your Home Health Care Agency Ditches You,” shines a light on confusion regarding recent changes to Medicare home health payments and beneficiary access to those services.

In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court on Monday lifted a temporary injunction blocking the Trump administration’s “public charge” rule. The policy may now take effect almost everywhere, even as litigation challenging the regulation continues in the lower courts.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court declined to fast-track the latest challenge to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This decision not to expedite review comes after a federal appeals court last month agreed with a federal judge in Texas that the ACA’s individual mandate is unconstitutional, but declined to say how much of the law should fall as a result. Instead, the appeals court sent the case back to the Texas court to reconsider that question—a process that could take months if not years.

A new brief from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) examines how state decisions to forego the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Medicaid expansion have impacted Americans’ access to coverage.

Yesterday, Medicare Rights Center President Fred Riccardi testified at a hearing of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Health titled “Legislation to Improve Americans’ Health Care Coverage and Outcomes.”

In the testimony, Medicare Rights urged Congress to pass the bipartisan, bicameral Beneficiary Enrollment Notification and Eligibility Simplification (BENES) Act (H.R. 2477) without delay.