HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The ongoing federal government shutdown is creating significant challenges for local doctors and thousands of residents on traditional Medicare as money for telehealth video visits has lapsed in Congress.
That is forcing health care providers to either absorb the costs or reschedule appointments for patients who already face difficulties accessing medical care.
This lapse in funding only impacts individuals covered by traditional Medicare, which covers about 150,000 seniors in Hawaii.
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Hardest Hit: Areas with physician shortages
The impact is especially severe in regions where doctors are already spread thin, such as Molokai.
“So we’re quite aware of the ups and downs, the ying and yang, the pull me this way, pull me that way. And yes, it’s all very stressful,” said Betts Cruz, a Molokai resident.
Cruz and her husband, John, both in their seventies, rely on telehealth due to their health issues and Molokai’s severe physician shortage.
“So it’s been difficult and very important to have tele-med. We literally, we can’t survive without it,” Cruz said.
Doctors continue care despite financial risk
Dr. Kaohimanu Dang Akiona, a Hilo-based physician, extends her practice to three islands through video visits. Many of her patients are on traditional Medicare.
Despite the uncertainty of payment, she and many other doctors are continuing with telehealth appointments.
“We need the care needs to continue, but with the hope that the coverage is going to be reinstated at some point and that this would be retroactively covered, but there’s no guarantees,” explained Dr. Akiona.
The Queen’s Health Systems responds
The Queen’s Health Systems, which conducts over 200,000 video visits annually, estimates that about 10% of these could be affected by the funding lapse.
Dr. Matthew Koenig, medical director of virtual care, emphasized the system’s commitment to patients.
“I want people to understand that there is a financial risk that Queen’s is taking in doing this, because what Queen’s is doing is saying, we are going to continue to offer telehealth services to our seniors, because we know they need that care,” said Dr. Koenig.
While Queen’s can manage the financial strain, smaller, independent practices, especially those serving a high number of Medicare patients, face significant risk.
Dr. Akiona, for instance, is absorbing the cost of approximately 30 video visits per week and has had to reschedule patients to days when a physician is physically in the office.
Cruz said the situation is also difficult for patients.
“As well as, for us personally, it’s very stressful. It just adds that one more level of stress,” Cruz said.
Political stalemate
The duration of this funding issue remains uncertain, as it is tied to congressional actions. Last year, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, introduced a bill to guarantee telehealth funding, which garnered a majority of Senate co-sponsors but has yet to pass.
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