We have had several of our partners reach out to us to ask about the possibility of providing telehealth as Coronavirus continues to spread across the country.
The answer to that question is extremely complicated and fluid.
Many practices have already instituted telemedicine to help eliminate barriers to care for patients. However, not every insurance payer is willing to cover these telehealth visits.
As of this moment, telehealth is NOT a widely covered benefit under the Medicare fee schedule. Each commercial payer has different regulations and fee schedules regarding reimbursement and telemedicine and these regulations differ by each state. Each state’s practice act may also have restrictions on whether or not you can provide telehealth.
If you are inquiring with your top payers about telemedicine, let them know where your originating site will be (home or office) to verify whether it will be covered. There may be additional questions and restrictions regarding the care you can provide via telemedicine.
We will continue to keep you updated on if CMS temporarily changes course to include specific specialties as a covered telemedicine benefit and on any other payer news regarding telemedicine. As always, we are here for you as a resource and are happy to answer any questions you may have on this topic.