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Medtech Provisions Approved In US Budget Agreement

 
• By Sue Darcey

Medtech and funding provisions in a two-year budget deal that the US Senate and House approved early Friday morning and which were signed by the President would extend Medicate telehealth programs, remove a rental cap for speech-generating devices and strengthen competitive bidding rules to assure access to diabetic test strips, among others. 

US Capitol building, Washington DC (f11photo/Shutterstock.com)
Lawmakers passed a budget deal early Feb. 9, avoiding a government shutdown. • Source: f11 photo/Shutterstock

A two-year budget deal Congress approved early on Feb. 9 includes a series of Medicare extenders, provisions to extend and ensure reimbursements for telemedicine, the chronically ill, diabetics, and additional funding for children's health, the National Institutes of Health and those agencies affected by three 2017 hurricane disasters. The measure also includes a short-term spending bill that keeps the government funded through March 23.

The budget deal extends the current funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program from six years to 10 years, and...

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