Boston Globe Articles Address Future of Telehealth; Prominently Feature MHQP
(March 2023)
Boston Globe reporter Felice Freyer has published two important articles focused on the future of telehealth in Massachusetts that prominently feature MHQP and its stakeholders.
The first article (“State’s largest insurer extends full telehealth coverage indefinitely” from February 19) spotlights Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts’ decision to continue paying for remote visits for primary care at the same rates as in-person visits. This is an important step at this time, as highlighted in quotes Ms. Freyer captured from MHQP’s CEO, Barbra Rabson:
“She (Rabson) noted that primary care is ‘extremely fragile’ right now. ‘This is not a good time to reduce any payment to primary care.'”
“If costs are going up in the system, it’s not because you’re seeing your primary care provider.”
The second article (“Telehealth at a crossroads: When does it work best? What should it cost?” from March 13) focuses attention more broadly on the uncertain future of telehealth in Massachusetts. MHQP provided many of the reporter’s contacts for this article, including former MHQP Board member, Barbara Spivak, MD; current MHQP Physician Council member, Julita Mir, MD; and current MHQP Consumer Health Council member, Kestrell Verlager.
In addition, the reporter includes insightful data collected by MHQP in the summer of 2022, which showed consumer satisfaction with telehealth declining from the first year of the pandemic to the second, and the reasons for this decline.