The push for increased telehealth coverage continues during the COVID-19 public health emergency (“PHE”). On October 14, 2020, CMS added 11 new telehealth services available for Medicare reimbursement during the PHE. The newly added services include cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation services and certain neurostimulator analysis and programming services. Since the beginning of the PHE, CMS has added over 144 covered telehealth services. A list of services payable under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule when furnished via telehealth is found here.
These newly added services follow data released by CMS, which reflects that over 36% of Medicare beneficiaries (12.1 million people) have received a telehealth service between March and August 2020, and more than 34.5 million services have been delivered via telehealth to Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries between March and June 2020.
While the Administration can continue to add benefits and remove regulatory barriers for telehealth during the PHE, significant permanent change will require Congressional action – particularly in relation to the removal of traditional geographic barriers and expansion of eligible telehealth providers.
If you have questions or would like additional information about telehealth, please contact:
- Chris Eades at (317) 977-1460 or ceades@wp.hallrender.com;
- Regan Tankersley at (317) 977-1445 or rtankersley@wp.hallrender.com;
- Abby Kaericher at (202) 780-2989 or akaericher@wp.hallrender.com; or
- Your regular Hall Render attorney.
Hall Render blog posts and articles are intended for informational purposes only. For ethical reasons, Hall Render attorneys cannot—outside of an attorney-client relationship—answer specific questions that would be legal advice.
