CMS Extends Telehealth to Institutional Providers
On May 27, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) expanded telehealth services to include outpatient physical, occupational and speech therapy provided in institutional settings. This expansion includes Rehabilitation Agencies, Skilled Nursing Facilities doing Part B, Comprehensive Outpatient Rehabilitation Facilities, Hospital Outpatient Therapy Departments (including Critical Access Hospitals) and Home Health Agencies providing outpatient therapy in the home.
To read the announcement from CMS, click
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In addition, click HERE to read my telehealth questions and answers when treating Medicare beneficiaries via telehealth in all outpatient therapy settings.
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As a hospital based OT, PT and Speech provider this is great news. Please confirm that making the beneficiary’s home a provider-based department (PBD) would no longer be required since we are not providing “remote” therapy but recognized telehealth services. Thank you.
If doing telehealth, that is different than delivering services remotely and you would not add the patients home as a PBD of the hospital.
This is great news!! Thank you so much!
Thank you so much for this update. This is fantastic news! Do you know if CMS has stated a retroactive date?
We believe the retro-active date will be March 1, 2020 and hope to confirm this with CMS next week.
Great and thank you again!
Do we still need to append the PN and CR modifiers? What has changed (other than the wording telehealth vs. therapy provided via telecommunications in the patient’s home) for outpatient hospital clinics?
Thank you!
Delivering services remotely and providing therapy via telehealth are not the same. In addition, billing for telehealth versus billing for services delivered remotely are different in terms of required modifiers. To learn what modifiers are required for telehealth, read this article:
https://gawendaseminars.com/medicare-telehealth-questions-and-answers/
Is this time limited legislation? Meaning, only extending these privileges to a certain date secondary to the pandemic and then it reverts?
Yes!
Just need clarification….telehealth can be done with Med A pts in a SNF, but just can’t separately bill (which I understand)?
Hi Rick,
Did you hear if there was clarification on if CMS is retro activating institutional settings’ telehealth coverage to March 1st?
Please read this article.
Are PTAs and OTAs allowed to provide telehealth services on a UB?
Yes, if allowed by the insurance carrier and your state practice act and other administrative rules.
Hi Rick,
Is there a link to the June 2nd office call or a written CMS document that confirms the expiration of telehealth is currently scheduled for July 24, 2020 at the end of the Public Health Emergency?
https://www.phe.gov/emergency/news/healthactions/phe/Pages/covid19-21apr2020.aspx
You would then have to count the number of days.
Hi Rick, any updates on the extension of telehealth past July 24th, 2020?
Updates will be posted on my website when they occur. As I answer your question, the current Public Health Emergency expires on July 24, 2020.