On December 23, the U.S. Congress passed the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023,” the omnibus budget bill for fiscal year 2023 (HR 2617). The bill includes several provisions relating to Medicare coverage of telehealth, including extending some of the flexibilities that became effective at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The budget bill for
The proposed 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule released on July 13 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) includes a new category of CPT codes for “remote therapeutic monitoring” (RTM). The new codes are in addition to the set of codes introduced in 2019 for remote physiological monitoring, usually called remote patient monitoring
The proposed 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, released on July 13 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), includes expanded reimbursement for behavioral health services delivered by telehealth, including reimbursing providers for audio-only telephone calls. The proposed expansion would allow Medicare beneficiaries with mental health or substance abuse disorders to receive diagnosis,
New York’s State Disaster Emergency declaration, which had been extended through June 24 through a series of Executive Orders by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, has expired. Among many other things, the Executive Orders had removed certain restrictions on the provision of telehealth services.
For example, since March 18, 2020, Gov. Cuomo’s Executive Order No. 202.5 had
On May 26, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced criminal charges against 14 defendants in six states for participation in healthcare fraud schemes related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The coordinated takedown involved fraudulent claims for laboratory testing, telemedicine fraud, pharmacy fraud, payment of kickbacks for referrals, and alleged misappropriation of COVID-19 Provider Relief Fund
Flo Health, Inc., which markets a menstrual and ovulation tracking app, recently entered into a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to dispose of charges that Flo improperly shared consumer data with third parties, including Facebook and Google. The disclosure of the data, which included pregnancy status and sexual history of more than 100
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released corrections to its 2021 Physician Fee Schedule final rule that was published on December 28. Some of the corrections clarify reimbursement requirements for remote patient monitoring (RPM), which entails gathering and interpreting physiologic data from patients at home.
The December 28 final rule had stated
In his 2021 State of the State Address on January 10, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced legislation to expand access to telehealth. The proposals will adjust reimbursement incentives to encourage telehealth, relax or eliminate outdated regulatory restrictions on the delivery of telehealth services, and establish training programs for patients and providers and other programs
The most recent COVID-19 relief bill that was signed into law in December includes $250 million in new funding for the federal COVID-19 Telehealth Program, previously discussed here. The program was originally established in March, at the beginning of the pandemic, to help expand connectivity among patients and providers across the country. Telehealth