Trump administration announces expanded telemedicine for Medicare users

The Trump administration on Tuesday announced expanded telehealth benefits for Medicare users, giving the country’s older population access to medical care without having to leave their homes during the outbreak of the coronavirus causing COVID-19.

“The Trump administration is taking swift and bold action to give patients greater access to care through telehealth during the COVID-19 outbreak,” Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma said.

“These changes allow seniors to communicate with their doctors without having to travel to a healthcare facility so that they can limit risk of exposure and spread of this virus. Clinicians on the frontlines will now have greater flexibility to safely treat our beneficiaries,” she added.

Senior citizens are one of the groups most at-risk to have fatal health complications from COVID-19, the other being people with underlying health problems.

Prior to the outbreak of the virus, Medicare users could only access telehealth services for routine “virtual check-ins.”

Currently in the U.S., there are over 4,000 confirmed cases of the virus with at least 85 deaths.