Tag Archives: CMS

Katko urges Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to expand telehealth access for seniors

U.S. Rep. John Katko (R-NY) recently made a bipartisan request that America’s senior citizens have expanded access to Medicare-covered telehealth services.

“Currently, Medicare only reimburses recipients for services conducted with audio and video equipment, excluding coverage of mental healthcare services provided over the phone,” Rep. Katko said on April 9. “With telehealth services being the only way millions of Americans have access to mental health services during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is imperative that CMS [Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services] immediately acts to expand coverage to audio-only telehealth services, ensuring all Medicare recipients have access to mental healthcare.”

The RiponAdvance

Medicare Remote Patient Monitoring: CMS Allows “Incident to” Billing

CMS just announced a clarification that remote patient monitoring under CPT code 99457 may be furnished by auxiliary personnel, “incident to” the billing practitioner’s professional services.  An “incident to” service is one that is performed under the supervision of a physician (broadly defined), and billed to Medicare in the name of the physician, subject to certain requirements, one of which is discussed below.  The announcement came in a technical correction issued March 14, 2019 and is effective immediately.  This is a highly-anticipated change among remote patient monitoring companies, as we discussed in greater detail in our previous coverage.

Healthcare Law Today