Episode 99: Bob Berenson on telehealth as the leading reason to ditch fee-for-service

Listening In (With Permission): Conversations About Today's Pressing Health Care Topics

Suzanne Delbanco consults Bob Berenson, MD, Institute Fellow at the Urban Institute, on what's going on with telehealth payment policy in both Medicare and the commercial sector and why employers should be paying attention. In May 2021, Bob Berenson testified at the Senate Finance Committee, where he laid out the reasons why fee-for-service is a not a viable way to continue paying for telehealth visits, especially in the primary care context. Listen in to learn about the intricacies of telehealth payment in Medicare, how the commercial sector has taken a different approach, and why a payment arrangement known as partial capitation holds the most promise for balancing the convenience of telehealth for patients with financial sustainability for health care purchasers.