Medicare continues to announce new flexibilities and expand telehealth coverage in response to the COVID-19 emergency. On March 17, Medicare announced it would allow providers to bill Medicare fee-for-service for patient care in all areas of the country and in all settings, including the beneficiary’s home. Additional changes and clarifications made by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) include:
- Medicare is further expanding access to allow for more than 80 additional services to be provided via telehealth.
- Medicare also is permitting physicians and other clinicians to provide certain services by telephone.
- When billing for traditional Medicare telehealth services and non-traditional Medicare telehealth services (i.e., one of newly allowed telehealth codes) with dates of services on or after March 1, 2020, and for the duration of the Public Health Emergency (PHE), bill with the Place of Service (POS) equal to what would have been used if the service had been furnished in-person, along with modifier 95, indicating that the service rendered was actually performed via telehealth.
- Providers can provide virtual check-in services to both new and established patients.
Additional Medicare Telehealth Resources:
- Physicians and Other Clinicians: CMS Flexibilities to Fight COVID-19 – Released March 30, 2020
- Additional Background: Sweeping Regulatory Changes Fact Sheet – Released March 30, 2020
KMA has updated its Medicare telehealth guidance for physicians with this information. It is available to download here.
