teeswater wrote: Telemedicine, with the potential to improve patient health outcomes and quality of life, as well as reduce spiralling health costs, is a hot topic, with companies providing services in this space attracting more attention. But what exactly does growth look like in this sector?
Here at themoneynarrative, we decided to look at an authoritative and recent source, being the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Medicare Program; CY 2022 Payment Policies Under the Physician Fee Schedule and Other Changes to Part B Payment Policies; Medicare Shared Savings Program Requirements; Provider Enrollment Regulation Updates; and Provider and Supplier Prepayment and Post-Payment Medical Review Requirements [64996 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 221 / Friday, November 19, 2021 / Rules and Regulations].
At 1,036 pages, the major final rule changes, effective on January 1, 2022, are not an easy read (thank goodness for search functionality)! But we did find an interesting quote worth sharing with readers, at page 65622:
Before the PHE [public health emergency] for COVID–19, approximately 15,000 FFS [fee-for-service] Medicare beneficiaries received a Medicare telemedicine service each week. According to a report prepared by the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE),267 in the last week of April 2020, nearly 1.7 million beneficiaries received telehealth services. By April 2020, nearly half of all Medicare primary care visits were telehealth encounters, a level consistent with health care encounters more broadly. There are approximately 271 services currently included on the list of Medicare telehealth services, including more than 165 that were added on a temporary basis during the PHE for COVID–19 (including service categories such as emergency department visits, initial inpatient and nursing facility visits, and discharge day management services) that are covered through the end of the PHE. Preliminary data show that between mid-March and mid-October 2020, over 24.5 million out of 63 million Medicare beneficiaries and enrollees have received a Medicare telemedicine service during the PHE. It is important to note that preliminary data reflect that the largest increases in services furnished via telehealth communications systems, by beneficiary access/volume, were for services that were already on the Medicare telehealth services list before the PHE.
Investors should pay close attention to the numbers. While some telemedicine services relate to the pandemic, the telemedicine trend is now firmly established; there is no turning back, particularly with the health benefits and cost savings realized. Companies providing services in this space are in the early days of satisfying demand. Those that get it right will reward shareholders incredibly well.
Our top pick in the sector is RHT.V, with potential stock appreciation – if they continue to carry out their plans successfully – that we are, frankly, embarrassed to even talk about for fear of eliciting accusations of pure exaggeration. We’ll leave it at “this is one of the best opportunities we have seen in several decades”, the facts supporting the business case being what they are. As for the ability of management to pull it off, we have a high degree of confidence in CEO Lisa Crossley and her team, based on our extensive discussions with industry experts, RHT.V management, and the company’s clients.