On 10/14/2020 additional services have been approved by the US Department of Health and Human Services to be provided via Telehealth During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.
Here is the timeline of the major announcements related to the Telehealth Expansion during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency:
- 03/17/2020 – Expansion of Telehealth is announced adding 89 additional services through Telehealth and removing requirements related to the patients location.
- 03/31/2020 – Clarification that effective 03/01/2020 services are to pay the same rate as if they were provided in person requiring change in billing processes for claims already billed.
- 04/30/2020 – Additional 46 services added to the official list of Telehealth Services.
- 07/22/2020 – CMS issues announcement about receiving hundreds of corrections 03/31/2020 change and promoting online access for corrections.
- 10/14/2020 – Additional 11 services added to the official list of Telehealth Services.
Since March 2020 one hundred and forty six services have been made available to be provided through Telehealth that could not be performed for many practices at the beginning of the year. These law changes allowed patients to receive care without being face to face and also required changes for how items were billed and how insurance carriers processed claims. For the most part we are seeing payers process Telehealth services properly when billed with the same place of service equal to what it would have been used had the service been furnished in-person along with modifier 95.
Here are links that we have found to be useful in answering questions related to Telehealth:
Health and Human Services – Telehealth Information Site: https://telehealth.hhs.gov/
This site contains step by step guides for how to begin delivering Telehealth in a medical practice. This also provides information to guide patients through receiving care via Telehealth.
Health and Human Services – Telehealth: Delivering Care Safely During COVID-19 site: https://www.hhs.gov/coronavirus/telehealth/index.html
This site contains policy specific information, frequently asked questions, and more in depth articles related to Telehealth policy during the public health emergency.
Long Term Care and Nursing Home Telehealth Guide: https://www.cms.gov/files/document/covid-19-nursing-home-telehealth-toolkit.pdf
This 8 page PDF Toolkit is aimed at assisting Long Term Care and Nursing Homes adopt Telehealth. The Toolkit contains links to reference both of the sites above along with check lists and
National Telehealth Technology Resource Center: https://telehealthtechnology.org/
This is funded by Federal Grants through the Health Resources and Service Center. They provide tool kits and reviews of Telehealth Vendors and also information to provide a better experience for the patient and the provider via Telehealth.
Northwest Regional Telehealth Center: https://www.nrtrc.org/
This is also Federally funded and provides updates for resources for Telehealth. Membership is free and if you call 833.747.0643 they will assist providers with setting up Telehealth services and answering questions. The region includes Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
Laws are rapidly changing and we are watching to see how long the Public Health Emergency will be in place. It is our understanding that the temporary expansions for Telehealth will terminate at the end of the Public Health Emergency for COVID-19. Each Emergency Declaration is to be issued for 90 days or until the end of the emergency. So far the COVID-19 Declaration was initiated on 01/31/2020 and renewed on 04/21/2020, 07/23/2020, and recently 10/02/2020 (with an effective date of 10/23/2020). To verify if the Public Health Emergency is in place you can go to the official list from the US Department of Health and Human Services at: https://www.phe.gov/emergency/news/healthactions/phe/Pages/default.aspx
If you have any questions related to billing for Telehealth please do not hesitate to contact us at (800)734-7486. We serve multiple specialties and have experience in making sure Telehealth services are properly provided, properly documented, properly billed, and properly paid.