At Legacy Consulting Services, we work diligently to stay ahead of changes in the overall healthcare landscape, billing and reimbursement.
One trend that has boomed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic is Telehealth, which essentially enables video or phone appointments between a patient and their doctor.
In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a Public Health Emergency (PHE) was established, which expedited the adoption and awareness of Telehealth. The PHE also:
- allowed governments to allocate resources, funding and personnel to combat the pandemic
- put public health measures in place to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19, such as quarantine protocols, travel restrictions, mandatory testing, contact tracing, social distancing guidelines and more
- served as a call-to-action for public awareness campaigns, research and development of treatments and vaccines
The PHE expired on May 11, 2023 and that means some changes are in the works when it comes to Telehealth.
Some of these flexibilities have been made permanent while others are temporary and are set to expire at the end of 2024. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a fact sheet to provide clarity. Here are some of the highlights:
PERMANENT CHANGES:
- Federally Qualified Health Centers and Rural Health Clinics can serve as a distant site provider for behavioral/mental telehealth services
- Medicare patients can receive telehealth services for behavioral/mental health care in their home
- There are no geographic restrictions for originating site for behavioral/mental telehealth services
- Behavioral/mental telehealth services can be delivered using audio-only communication platforms
- Rural Emergency Hospitals are eligible originating sites for telehealth
TEMPORARY CHANGES THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2024
- FQHCs and RHCs can serve as a distant site provider for non-behavioral/mental telehealth services
- Medicare patients can receive telehealth services in their home
- There are no geographic restrictions for originating site for non-behavioral/mental telehealth services
- Some non-behavioral/mental telehealth services can be delivered using audio-only communication platforms
- An in-person visit within six months of an initial behavioral/mental telehealth service, and annually thereafter, is not required
- Telehealth services can be provided by all eligible Medicare providers
(Source: telehealth.hhs.gov)
This is similar to research from Doximity, which counts 1.8 million physicians (about 80% of the U.S. physician workforce) among its membership, estimating with private claims data that approximately 20% of all U.S. health care visits in 2020 were conducted by telemedicine.
With PHE ending, Legacy Consulting Services can assist as practices navigate potential changes in telehealth. Whether it is clinical, billing or administrative questions, we will come alongside your team to ensure Medicare, Medicaid and commercial guidelines are met and billed appropriately. There are so many specifics and it can definitely get confusing. Contact us to help in any way.