October 14: CMS has announced that the list of Telehealth services that Medicare Fee-For-Service will pay for during the COVID-19 public health emergency will be expanded. Alongside these changes, additional support will be provided to state Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) agencies in an effort to expand Telehealth services.

CMS will be adding 11 new services to the Medicare Telehealth services list since the publication of the May 1, COVID-19 Interim Final Rule. Effective immediately and for the duration of the PHE, Medicare will begin to pay eligible practitioners who supply these newly expanded Telehealth services. The additional services are listed below:

1. 93797: Cardiac rehab

2. 93798: Cardiac rehab/monitor

3. 93750: In-person ventricular assist device interrogation

4. 95970: Electronic analysis of implanted neurostimulator pulse without programming

5. 95971: Electronic analysis of implanted neurostimulator pulse generator/transmitter with programming

6. 95972: Electronic analysis of implanted neurostimulator pulse generator/transmitter

7. 95983: Electronic analysis of implanted neurostimulator pulse generator/transmitter, by physician or other qualified healthcare professional; with brain neurostimulator pulse generator/transmitter programming; first 15 minutes face-to-face with physician or other qualified healthcare professional

8. 95984: Electronic analysis of implanted neurostimulator pulse generator/transmitter, by physician or other qualified healthcare professional; with brain neurostimulator pulse generator/transmitter programming; each additional 15 minutes face-to-face with physician or other qualified healthcare professional

9. G0422: Intensive cardiac rehab with exercise

10. G0423: Intensive cardiac rehab, no exercise

11. G0424: Pulmonary rehab with exercise

For the first time, CMS has released a preliminary Medicaid and CHIP data snapshot on telehealth utilization during the PHE. The effort is intended to provide a better view of telehealth access for Medicaid and CHIP. This snapshot depicts the provision of more than 34.5 million services delivered via Telehealth to Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries between March and June of this year.

Published: October 21, 2020