From Covering Kids & Families of Indiana Newsletter
White House & CMS Seek Permanent Telehealth Expansions
Following an Executive Order from the White House, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a set of proposed rules meant to maintain the expansions to Telehealth Services put in place during the Public Health Emergency (PHE).
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, CMS significantly expanded payment for telehealth services and implemented other flexibilities so that Medicare beneficiaries could have access to care while avoiding exposure. This led to the broadest adoption of telehealth services seen to date. Before the PHE, it was reported that only 14,000 beneficiaries received a Medicare telehealth service per week. In contrast, over 10.1 million beneficiaries have received a Medicare telehealth service during the public health emergency from mid-March through early-July.
CMS added 135 services such as emergency department visits, initial inpatient and nursing facility visits, and discharge day management services to the list of those reimbursable when delivered via telehealth. CMS is now proposing to permanently allow some of those services to be billable via telehealth, including home visits for the evaluation and management of a patient and certain types of visits for patients with cognitive impairments. CMS is seeking public input on other services to consider permanently adding to this list. CMS is also proposing to temporarily extend payment for other telehealth services, such as emergency department visits, for a specific time period through the calendar year in which the PHE ends.
The related proposed rules are the CY 2021 Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule and the CY 2021 Quality Payment Program proposed rule. Public comments on the proposed rules are due by October 5, 2020. |
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