NEWS

CMS Adds New Telehealth Services to Medicare Coverage

Since the beginning of the public health emergency, CMS has added over 135 services to the Medicare telehealth services list.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) services delivered via telehealth to Medicaid and CHIP has expanded the list of telehealth services that Medicare beneficiaries between March and June of this year, repFee-For-Service will pay for during the coronavirus disease resenting an increase of more than 2,600% when com2019 (COVID-19) Public Health Emergency (PHE). pared to the same period from the prior year. The data

CMS is also providing additional also shows that adults ages 19-64 support to state Medicaid and Chil- received the most services delivered dren’s Health Insurance Program Medicare will begin via telehealth, although there was (CHIP) agencies in their efforts to paying eligible substantial variance across both age expand access to telehealth. For the first time using a new practitioners who groups and states. To further drive telehealth, CMS expedited process, CMS is adding 11 furnish these newly is releasing a new supplement to its new services to the Medicare telehealth services list since the publication of the May 1, 2020, COVID-19 added telehealth services effective State Medicaid & CHIP Telehealth Toolkit: Policy Considerations for States Expanding Use of Telehealth, Interim Final Rule with comment immediately, and COVID-19 Version that provides period (IFC). Medicare will begin paying eligible practitioners who for the duration numerous new examples and insights into lessons learned from states furnish these newly added telehealth of the PHE. that have implemented telehealth services effective immediately, and changes. The updated supplemenfor the duration of the PHE. tal information is intended to help states strategically think through how they explain and These new telehealth services include: clarify to providers and other stakeholders which policies ʯ Certain neurostimulator analysis and are temporary or permanent. It also helps states identify programming services services that can be accessed through telehealth, which ʯ Cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation services. providers may deliver those services, the ways providers may use in order to deliver services through telehealth, as

Since the beginning of the public health emergency, well as the circumstances under which telehealth can be CMS has added over 135 services to the Medicare tele- reimbursed once the PHE expires. health services list – such as emergency department visits, The toolkit includes approaches and tools states can initial inpatient and nursing facility visits, and discharge use to communicate with providers on utilizing telehealth day management services. for patient care. It updates and consolidates in one place

With the latest action, Medicare will pay for 144 ser- the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and resources for vices performed via telehealth. states to consider as they begin planning beyond the tem-

CMS also announced that in an effort to provide porary flexibilities provided in response to the pandemic. greater transparency on telehealth access in Medicaid To view the Medicaid and CHIP data snapshot and CHIP, it is releasing, for the first time, a preliminary on telehealth utilization during the PHE, please visit: Medicaid and CHIP data snapshot on telehealth utiliza- www.medicaid.gov/resources-for-states/downloads/ tion during the PHE. This snapshot shows, among other medicaid-chip-beneficiaries-COVID-19-snapshot-datathings, that there have been more than 34.5 million through-20200630.pdf.