On April 13, 2020, Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) announced they have expanded telehealth services to include outpatient physical, occupational and speech therapy services. The temporary changes are retroactive to April 1 and will be in effect through at least May 15, 2020, and could beextended after that, if circumstances warrant. There will be no waiver of cost share (e.g. copays, deductibles, and coinsurance) for these services and all contractual limitations, conditions, policies, and procedures will apply. Codes must be submitted with place of service 02 and modifier 95 or GT to indicate billing of a telehealth service. Appropriate

QuestionWhat is the difference between an E-Visit and a Telehealth Visit? Answer I hope you found this article helpful. Click HERE to read the difference between an E-Visit and a Telephone Service. Thank you for being a Gold Member!

Effective April 9, 2020, Cigna has updated their telehealth coverage policies for outpatient physical, occupational and speech-language pathology therapy services. Previously, Cigna only covered the following CPT codes: For Physical Therapy: 97161, 97162, 97110 (only 2 units per telehealth visit) For Occupational Therapy: 97165, 97166, 97110 (only 2 units per telehealth visit) For Speech Therapy: 92507 and 92526 Per the update, Cigna will now cover the following CPT codes: I hope you found this article helpful. Thank you for being a Gold Member!

QuestionAs of April 15, 2020 at 5:00pm EDT, does the Medicare program pay for telehealth services provided by a physical therapist, occupational therapist or speech-language pathologist? Answer I hope you found the answer to this question to be a definitive answer. Thank you for being a Gold Member!

Due to the Public Health Emergency (PHE) as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have designated the following CPT codes and HCPCS Level II codes as “sometimes therapy” CPT codes: G2010: Remote evaluation of recorded video and/or images submitted by an established patient (e.g., store and forward), including interpretation with follow-up with the patient within 24 business hours, not originating from a related E/M service provided within the previous 7 days nor leading to an E/M service or procedure within the next 24 hours or soonest available appointment G2012: Brief communication technology-based

On March 30, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an interim final rule titled “Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Policy and Regulatory Revisions in Response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency“. In this interim final rule, CMS did add CPT codes that are typically billed by physical therapists (PTs), occupational therapists (OTs) and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) as covered telehealth services; however, they did not add PTs, OTs and SLPs as telehealth providers. This led many to ask why would CMS add these CPT codes to the list of covered therapy services if they did not add PTs,

While we wait for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to add physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech-language pathologists as telehealth providers for outpatient therapy services, a question I am receiving is how does this relate to Medicare Advantage plans. What you need to remember is that traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantages plans are not the same. Regarding Medicare Advantage plans and do they pay for telehealth services for outpatient physical, occupational and speech therapy services is Medicare Advantage plan specific. You must contact each insurance carrier to see if they have expanded telehealth services to include outpatient

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), due to the Public Health Emergency (PHE) due to COVID-19 Pandemic, are allowing physical therapists (PTs), occupational therapists (OTs) and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to provide the following services: G2010: Remote evaluation of recorded video and/or images submitted by an established patient (e.g., store and forward), including interpretation with follow-up with the patient within 24 business hours, not originating from a related E/M service provided within the previous 7 days nor leading to an E/M service or procedure within the next 24 hours or soonest available appointment G2012: Brief communication technology-based service, e.g.