The Drug Enforcement Administration is extending public health emergency flexibilities for prescribing controlled medications via telemedicine. The agency has not determined how long the extension will last. During the emergency, providers writing prescriptions for controlled substancessuch as the attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder drug Adderall; the addictive painkiller OxyContin;Xanax, and the opioid addiction treatment drug buprenorphine — were allowed to do so via telemedicine.
Telehealth appointments for Medicare beneficiaries, especially those in rural areas or other places where health care is scarce, will remain covered through 2024, because of a spending bill approved by Congress late last year. For people on Medicaid, telehealth appointments often were covered before the pandemic and will remain available after May 11.has been able to compel labs to report the results of coronavirus tests to the CDC.
That lab reporting requirement goes away with the end of the public health emergency. Similar reporting of positive test results by hospitals and other data, such as the number of hospitalized covid-19 patients and number of N95 masks, will continue through the end of April 2024.