We enjoy the senior page of The Signal, including the “Savvy Senior.” This information helps older adults navigate life’s tough questions. The recent column on “how Medicare covers telehealth” was helpful, but there is a slight correction most are unaware of: Medicare will cover a telemedicine visit at home, but if you are a senior resident of California, your doctor cannot contact you if that physician is not in your state.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, out-of-state doctor telemedicine visits were allowed, but once the pandemic ended, laws reverted to previous rules, and these contacts were no longer allowed.
We have introduced a bill twice into the California Legislature (this year, Senate Bill 1002) without success. It would allow California residents with life-threatening illnesses, such as cancer, to consult with their out-of-state doctors via telemedicine visits, avoiding long, costly trips for treatment.
Fortunately, medical technology is evolving quickly, and because cancer is caused by a mutation, a goal of researchers has been to identify this abnormality and determine how it might be corrected.
Only certain “Centers of Excellence” and institutes are conducting these investigations and clinical trials, but many are outside of California. If it is outside the state, you would not be allowed to be evaluated or treated via a telemedicine visit.
Subsequently, if you are too ill to travel or it has become too costly, a telemedicine visit is not an option.
We all know someone affected by this dreaded disease, and many could benefit from telemedicine.
Robin Clough and Dr. Gene Dorio
Saugus
