By: Bill Dacey June 3, 2020 For several years, we’ve seen Medicare and the American Medical Association’s Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) manual slowly approach the age of telehealth. Despite a lot of discussion and many headlines during each of the past few years, the codes and coverage embracing the modern age of medicine have lagged […]
— We need to usher in a new era of patient care by Jeffrey Davis May 24, 2020 The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly accelerated the adoption of telehealth, with emergency physicians delivering care whenever patients need it, and wherever they are located. “The genie’s out of the bottle,” said Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator […]
State Medicaid & Basic Health Programs: CMS Flexibilities to Fight COVID-19 Since the beginning of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, the Trump Administration has issued an unprecedented array of temporary regulatory waivers and new rules to equip the American healthcare system with maximum flexibility to respond to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. These temporary […]
During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, HHS has taken steps to make it easier to provide telehealth services. Telehealth — sometimes referred to as telemedicine — describes the use of 2-way communication technology for certain health care services. We encourage health care providers to adopt and use telehealth as a way to safely provide care to […]
MLN Booklet TELEHEALTH SERVICES ICN MLN901705 March 2020 Target Audience: Medicare Fee-For-Service Providers The Hyperlink Table, at the end of this document, provides the complete URL for each hyperlink. TABLE OF CONTENTS Originating Sites………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3 Distant Site Practitioners……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4 Telehealth Services……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4 Telehealth Services Billing and Payment………………………………………………………………………………. 7 Telehealth Originating Sites Billing and Payment………………………………………………………………….. 8 […]
As the novel coronavirus outbreak continues, the federal government and commercial health insurers have taken significant steps to increase Americans’ access to treatment and testing. In the past week, the federal government and private insurers have issued a number of guidance documents expanding coverage and payment requirements in an effort to minimize the spread of […]
Monday, March 9, 2020 The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released several fact sheets on COVID-19 coverage and benefits, and announced a second Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code, U0002, for billing COVID-19 diagnostic tests. Medicare will accept claims with U0001 and U0002 starting on April 1, 2020, for dates of service […]
On Thursday, the Senate approved a bill that will provide $8.3 billion in emergency funds to help mitigate the effects of COVID-19, otherwise known as the coronavirus. Apart from funding, the bill made major changes to telehealth statutes, possibly allowing home-based care providers to both rely heavier on telehealth tools and be properly reimbursed for […]
Insurance coverageIn a statement on March 6, 2020, the Board of Directors for America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) announced that insurers are voluntarily covering the diagnostic testing of COVID-19 (coronavirus) when ordered by a physician. AHIP said that health insurers are taking action to ease network referral and prior authorization requirements and/or waiving patient cost-sharing. Additionally, AHIP […]
Cardiology illustrates what specialties can do to be ready As COVID-19 coronavirus encroaches into communities across the U.S., cardiology’s use of telemedicine could set a precedent for what specialties can do with the technology to both protect coronavirus-vulnerable patients and manage comorbidity that arises. “Self-quarantine and social distancing are important tools in managing disease transmission, […]
A patient’s ‘circle of care’ can include relatives, friends, a spiritual adviser or the pharmacist, not just doctors, nurses, or telehealth clinicians. Technology is helping bring them all together. BRIGITTE PELLERINJanuary 3, 2020 A fresh decade means fresh ideas. Brigitte Pellerin talks to some of the local people who are innovating – some in small […]
Foley & Lardner’s third state-by-state survey of telehealth coverage reports a ‘sea change’ in legislative activity to require commercial payers to reimburse providers for connected health services. By Eric Wicklund December 03, 2019 – Commercial payers are jumping – or being pulled – aboard the telehealth bandwagon, according to a new analysis of state telehealth reimbursement […]
Two years after Foley’s 2017 Telemedicine and Digital Health Survey uncovered a demand for telemedicine and digital health services, as well as coverage and reimbursement to match the growing demand, Foley explores how each state has responded in its 2019 50-State Telehealth Survey plus District of Columbia (DC) of Commercial Payer Statutes. The survey found that as […]