Current News

News

06/01/20

Aetna Extends Telehealth Coverage Timeframe

Aetna’s expansion of telehealth services to include outpatient physical, occupational and speech therapy services was due to expire on June 4, 2020. Due to the continued COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, Aetna will now cover outpatient physical, occupational and speech therapy delivered via telehealth until I hope you found this article helpful. Thank you for being a Gold Member!

Read More
05/26/20

Blue Cross Telehealth Websites

I have been receiving a significant number of questions regarding telehealth services covered by the various Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) plans around the country. The expansion of telehealth services to include outpatient physical, occupational and speech therapy services by BCBS in each state will have different billing rules and regulations (place of service codes, CPT codes payable via telehealth), different start and end dates as well as different practice settings that can be reimbursed for providing telehealth services. In this article, I have provided the link to each states BCBS webpage where you can obtain the latest information on

Read More
05/26/20

Humana Expands Telehealth to Include Therapy Services

This article was updated on May 28, 2020 Humana will now cover telehealth services for outpatient therapy services provided by physical therapists, physical therapists assistants, occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants and speech-language pathologists. Humana states they will always follow the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) telehealth or state-specific requirements that apply to telehealth coverage for our insurance products. Since CMS now covers telehealth when provided by physical therapists, physical therapists assistants, occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants and speech-language pathologists in all outpatient therapy settings (both private practice and institutional settings), at minimum, Humana will now cover the same.

Read More
05/24/20

Cigna Extends Telehealth Expiration Date

On May 22, 2020, Cigna announced they are extending the customer cost-share waivers and other enhanced benefits, including our interim virtual care policy, through at least July 31, 2020. Click HERE to read the announcement straight from Cigna. In addition, check out my Cigna Telehealth Questions and Answers. I hope you found this article helpful. Thank you for being a Gold Member!

Read More
05/18/20

CMS Clarifies Billing of E-Visits and Telephone Services

This article was updated on May 29, 2020. See below for answers that have been updated. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued guidance regarding the billing of E-Visits and Telephone Services provided by physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech-language pathologists. In this article, I will provide you the information via a question and answer format. QuestionWhat is the update that CMS released and how does it pertain to the E-Visits and Telephone Services? Answer (Updated on May 26, 2020) QuestionWhat codes were added to the list of “sometimes therapy” services? Answer QuestionSince the above codes have

Read More
05/18/20

Medicare Telehealth Questions and Answers

This article was updated on July 23, 2020 due to Secretary Azar extending the Public Health Emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This article was updated on June 23, 2020 due to CMS clarifying if a practitioner can be out of the country and provide a telehealth visit to a Medicare beneficiary in a state where the practitioner is licensed in. See below for the question and the answer. This article was updated on May 27, 2020 due to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services expanding telehealth coverage for outpatient therapy services to include institutional providers. Please see questions

Read More
05/15/20

UnitedHealthcare Telehealth Updates

On May 4, 2020, UnitedHealthcare (UHC) updated information on its website concerning physical, occupational and speech therapy telehealth. Highlights of UnitedHealthcare’s coverage of physical, occupational and speech therapy services delivered via telehealth include the following: In addition, check out my FAQs on UHC and telehealth that was published on April 23, 2020. I hope you found this information helpful. Thank you for being a Gold Member!

Read More
05/15/20

Aetna Updates CPT Codes That Can Be Delivered via Telehealth

On May 12, 2020, Aetna updated the list of CPT codes that can be delivered via telehealth and paid for by Aetna for both Aetna Commercial plans and Aetna Medicare Advantage plans. CPT codes that were added include In addition, check out my FAQs on Aetna and telehealth that I published on April 23, 2020. I hope you found this article helpful. Thank you for being a Gold Member!

Read More