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President Trump Expands Telehealth Benefits, but what does it mean?

Mar 18, 2020 8:00:00 AM / by James Deck

Today, President Trump expanded Telehealth benefits. It appears that visits that can be conducted via Telehealth regardless of diagnosis and will be paid by CMS under the "Physician Fee Schedule" at the same amount as in-person services. Specifically, it says,

"Clinicians can bill immediately for dates of service starting March 6, 2020. Telehealth services are paid under the Physician Fee Schedule at the same amount as in-person services. Medicare coinsurance and deductible still apply for these services. Additionally, the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) is providing flexibility for healthcare providers to reduce or waive cost-sharing for telehealth visits paid by federal healthcare programs."

A couple of questions come to mind:

1) How should physicians code the visit? Do they use the same codes they normally would?

2) Will commercial plans follow suit?

https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/president-trump-expands-telehealth-benefits-medicare-beneficiaries-during-covid-19-outbreak

Billers sure have their work cut out for them. Please let us know your thoughts!

Tags: Coronavirus, billing, Telehealth

James Deck

Written by James Deck

James Deck has been an innovator in the healthcare industry for nearly two decades specializing in patient engagement, AI, Pop Health, Value Based Care, cloud and managed IT services.