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Q&A
Telehealth reimbursement and community partnerships for accessibility
0:44:23
ยท
142 sec
Council Member Narcisse inquires about telehealth reimbursement for patients with mobility-related disabilities and explores ideas for community partnerships to improve accessibility. Ivelesse Mendez-Justiniano responds to these inquiries.
- Commercial insurance companies do not have different requirements for telehealth patients with disabilities.
- Narcisse expresses concern about the financial burden on private facilities and clinics to provide accessible equipment.
- H+H partners with community-based organizations, including Disability Unite, and participates in disability festivals.
- Mendez-Justiniano expresses willingness to explore additional partnership opportunities to improve accessibility in healthcare.
Mercedes Narcisse
0:44:23
Thank you.
0:44:24
The commercial insurance companies, Medicare, Medicaid have different requirement for reimbursement for telehealth if the patient experiences a mobility related disability?
Ivelesse Mendez-Justiniano
0:44:36
Commercial insurance companies do not have different requirements for telehealth patients.
Mercedes Narcisse
0:44:41
That's a great concern because when it comes for H and H, maybe a little different but Chili and I, we're talking about the private facility, the clinic.
0:44:52
So if they don't have that, how could they partner?
0:44:56
I'm looking at ways, maybe you can give me that idea because I'm looking at ways for those offices that near the hospital, if they can partner in a way because we're putting a requirement over folks and then we're not taking in consideration the financial burden on them and force them to close.
0:45:16
And we need, especially in the black and brown communities, we need to make sure those doors are open to give access to healthcare that we promise promise in New York City.
0:45:27
So I don't know what kind of outreach that H and H can do within the community because I know one of the things when I used to work for H and H, we used to go out there, we used to have partners to go in the facilities nearby to see how we can support each other.
0:45:44
I don't know if you still, are you still doing that for H and
Neal Kalish
0:45:46
H?
Ivelesse Mendez-Justiniano
0:45:46
We do partner with community based organizations.
0:45:49
We have partnered with Disability Unite.
0:45:51
We participated in the disability festival.
0:45:54
We are happy to explore additional partnership opportunities.
Mercedes Narcisse
0:45:58
Because like say for scale, someone were to get on the scale, the doctor is probably not going to make investment for a very large scale.
0:46:07
And then if the H and H or nonprofit organization that you partner with, the person can go and wait.
0:46:12
I'm just looking for a different option because it's expensive.
0:46:16
I used to have a DME and I know those equipment can be very expensive and if the doctor only have one client and now you know how difficult that would be for them to make that investment specifically for one patient that they want to provide care to.
0:46:31
So I'm thinking.
0:46:32
So in my way of thinking, I'm asking you can you explore with me to see how we can make it effective to provide care with folks with disability in our communities.
Ivelesse Mendez-Justiniano
0:46:43
Happy to partner and explore.
Mercedes Narcisse
0:46:45
Okay.