CMS Updates FAQ Document on Medicare Coverage for Telehealth

In light of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has updated its FAQs on Medicare coverage for telehealth services.

April 13, 2020 – The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has updated its guidance document on Medicare reimbursement for telehealth services during the Coronavirus pandemic.

In its 38-page FAQ update unveiled last week, CMS includes 22 questions specifically targeting telehealth and mHealth coverage under Medicare fee-for-service guidelines. The questions don’t take into account flexibilities created by The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (HR 748), which was signed into law on March 30.

Connected health topics in the FAQ document include section 1135 public health emergency (PHE) waivers, mHealth devices covered by Medicare, the difference between telehealth visits and virtual check-ins and services, and communication technology-based services (CTBS).

The document gives healthcare providers a starting point from which to plan a telehealth program that includes Medicare reimbursement.

It follows two previous documents released by CMS that deal with the COVID-19 emergency, one focusing on questions related to 1135 waivers and the other on questions that don’t involve 1135 waivers.

CMS has said it will provide an additional document on Medicare changes outlines in the CARES Act once those plans are finalized.