[TAO] Fwd: Telehealth changes keep coming during COVID-19!

Fri May 1 08:10:57 PDT 2020

Good Morning,

Yesterday CMS released a 36 page document dealing with Medicare
expansion during COVID 19.  It included further expansions to telehealth.
Below you will find these expansions.  We are watching for new fact sheets,
clarifications and guidance regarding these changes and will forward them
to you as we get them.

Best,
Cathy

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Deb LaMarche <deb.lamarche at utn.org>
Date: Fri, May 1, 2020 at 7:18 AM
Subject: Telehealth changes keep coming during COVID-19!
To:

On April 30, 2020, the CMS Newsroom published a press release, Trump
Administration Issues Second Round of Sweeping Changes to Support U.S.
Healthcare System During COVID-19 Pandemic
<https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/trump-administration-issues-second-round-sweeping-changes-support-us-healthcare-system-during-covid>.
Here are the excerpts regarding telehealth:

*Further Expand Telehealth in Medicare:*

CMS directed a historic expansion of telehealth services so that doctors
and other providers can deliver a wider range of care to Medicare
beneficiaries in their homes. Beneficiaries thus don’t have to travel to a
healthcare facility and risk exposure to COVID-19.

   - For the duration of the COVID-19 emergency, CMS is *waiving
   limitations on the types of clinical practitioners that can furnish
   Medicare telehealth services*. Prior to this change, only doctors, nurse
   practitioners, physician assistants, and certain others could deliver
   telehealth services. Now, other practitioners are able to provide
   telehealth services, including *physical therapists, occupational
   therapists, and speech language pathologists*.
   - *Hospitals may bill for services furnished remotely *by hospital-based
   practitioners to Medicare patients registered as hospital
outpatients, *including
   when the patient is at home* when the home is serving as a temporary
   provider-based department of the hospital. Examples of such services
   include counseling and educational service as well as therapy services.
   This change expands the types of healthcare providers that can provide
   using telehealth technology.
   - *Hospitals may bill as the originating site* for telehealth services
   furnished by hospital-based practitioners to Medicare patients registered
   as hospital outpatients, including when the patient is located at home.
   - CMS previously announced that Medicare would pay for certain services
   conducted by *audio-only telephone* between beneficiaries and their
   doctors and other clinicians. Now, CMS is *broadening that list* to
   include many behavioral health and patient education services. CMS
is also *increasing
   payments for these telephone visits* to match payments for similar
   office and outpatient visits. This would increase payments for these
   services from a range of about $14-$41 to about $46-$110. The payments are
   retroactive to March 1, 2020.
   - Until now, CMS only added new services to the list of Medicare
   services that may be furnished via telehealth using its rulemaking process.
   CMS is *changing its process* during the emergency, and *will add new
   telehealth services* on a sub-regulatory basis, *considering requests by
   practitioners* now learning to use telehealth as broadly as possible.
   This will speed up the process of adding services.
   - As mandated by the CARES Act, CMS is paying for Medicare telehealth
   services provided by *rural health clinics and federally qualified
   health clinics*. Previously, these clinics could not be paid to provide
   telehealth expertise as “*distant sites*.” Now, Medicare beneficiaries
   located in rural and other medically underserved areas will have more
   options to access care from their home without having to travel.
   - Since some Medicare beneficiaries don’t have access to interactive
   audio-video technology that is required for Medicare telehealth services,
   or choose not to use it even if offered by their practitioner, *CMS is
   waiving the video requirement for certain telephone evaluation and
   management services*, and adding them to the list of Medicare telehealth
   services. As a result, Medicare beneficiaries will be able to use an
   audio-only telephone to get these services.

Details can be found here:

CMS COVID-19 Emergency Declaration Blanket Waivers for Health Care Providers
<https://www.cms.gov/files/document/summary-covid-19-emergency-declaration-waivers.pdf>,
4-29-2020

Contact the NRTRC <https://nrtrc.org/> if you have questions, or join us
for Friday Office Hours <https://nrtrc.org/covid-19-detail-118> 2:00-3:00
Mtn / 1:00-2:00 Pacific / 12:00-1:00 Alaska.

Best regards,

Deb LaMarche

*Deb LaMarche*

Program Director & PI, *Northwest Regional Telehealth Resource Center*
<https://nrtrc.org/>

801-587-6190 office | 801-690-3406 cell | deb.lamarche at utn.org |
http://nrtrc.org

*The NRTRC is proud to be part of the **National Consortium of Telehealth
Resource Centers* <https://www.telehealthresourcecenter.org/>

[image: NRTRC - Northwest Regional Telehealth Resource Center]
<https://www.nrtrc.org/>                   [image: NCTRC-for email]

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-- 
Catherine S. Britain, Executive Director
Telehealth Alliance of Oregon
csbritain at gmail.com
541-910-7366
www.ortelehealth.org
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