Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Department of Medical Assistance Services
 
Board
Board of Medical Assistance Services
 
Guidance Document Change: This is to provide an update to and supersedes the “Face-to-Face and Case Management Visits” Medicaid Bulletin posted on March 17, 2022.
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12/22/22  12:16 am
Commenter: Clark

Keep Virtual Visits for the sake of us with chronic illnesses and damaged immune systems
 

Keep virtual visits for the sake of patients with chronic illnesses and damaged immune systems. Required In-Person Home Visits exposes those of us with chronic illnesses and damaged immune systems to more illness than we already have to live with daily. Not having the safety of Virtual Visits means having to choose between the ability to afford care at home and being able to protect ourselves from exposure to workers who themselves are forced to be exposed to patients wherever care is provided. It's unlikely that everyone will be able to cancel a required home visit if they are already ill with Covid, the flu, etc. in time to protect the visitor.

As a patient living with chronic illnesses, I am treated with medications that strip my immune system and make very easy for me to become ill from simple exposure to common illnesses. My consequence has been hospitalization, inpatient rehab followed by outpatient rehab. It takes months for me to recover to my baseline. Doctors say that this is the life of those with chronic illnesses whether asthma, MS, or other illnesses.  It matters if we don't have any control over whether or not we heed doctors' warnings not to allow ourselves to be exposed.   Please consider our cost. Keep Virtual Visits.  

CommentID: 206768