News and Notes on Telemedicine Innovation
Browse resources for helpful industry insights, updates and tips.
Quick Hits
Reimbursement
Policy
Best Practice
Helpful Links
How do I Get Paid for Telemedicine?
Using FaceTime for Telemedicine [Whitepaper]
Overview of the HIPAA rules and SimpleVisit
Building a Virtual Practice?
Find expert advice on best practices and tools used for virtual care.
Regulation & Reimbursement Report
BLOG ARTICLES
How to Integrate FaceTime for Telemedicine
Rob Warlick | 3 min read | April 23, 2021During the public health emergency, direct FaceTime calls are permitted for healthcare. Outside of that waiver, SimpleVisit is the only HIPAA-compliant way to bridge in FaceTime and other video calling apps. With over 620...
Using FaceTime for Telemedicine in 2021
Rob Warlick | 4 min read | January 26, 2021 In response to the global pandemic and the public health emergency, many medical groups have purchased or crafted a solution to treat over video. Due to the lax in federal regulations, many are turning to commonly available...
Kindness and Healthcare
Allie Clark | 10 min read | December 2, 2020It is time for some kindness. The holiday season can be a rough time for many among us. A report from the National Alliance on Mental Illness shows that this time of the year negatively affects a majority of people suffering...
read more from our blog
RESOURCE LIBRARY
Reimbursement
Medicare
What are the requirements for Medicare to reimburse for telemedicine?
Medicare is one of the largest providers of health insurance in the country, and many people rely on it to be able to afford medical services in a variety of specialties. They also have a very complicated reimbursement process, with very specific requirements for when they will cover services delivered through telehealth. View our resource page at the link below, with information taken from the Telehealth Resource Center’s informational booklet on the subject.
Is where my patient is located eligible for Medicare telehealth payment? Is it considered “rural” or a Healthcare Professional Shortage Area by Medicare?
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services only covers telehealth services when the service beneficiary is located in specific geographic areas. The CMS resource booklet defines that type of area as: “a county outside of a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA); OR a rural Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) located in a rural census tract”. The Health Resources and Services Administration provides two tools to assist providers in determining if their chosen originating site lies within one of those areas for the purpose of reimbursing telehealth services.
What specific types of telehealth services will Medicare pay for?
Every year, CMS publishes a list of CPT & HCPCS codes that they will accept on claims for reimbursement of telehealth services. They also accept requests for the consideration of two types of new codes to be added to that list for the next year: Category 1, which include services that are similar to items that are currently on the list of telehealth-acceptable codes; and Category 2, which are services that are not similar to the current list of telehealth-acceptable codes. The list of codes from the current year and previous year is available on the CMS website.
Legislation
What are the current and pending legislations in my state and federally that pertain to telehealth?
Each year there are more and more laws passed and regulations approved that advance the accessibility and practicality of using telemedicine in everyday medical practices. The Center for Connected Health Policy has an interactive map and searchable tracker designed to help you easily look up and access the current and pending legislation and regulations in any state that pertain to all aspects of telehealth.
Center for Connected Health Policy’s Current State Laws & Reimbursement Policies
Does my state have a law that requires private payers to reimburse telemedicine services the same as in-person services?
While there are many ways to get paid for offering medical services via telehealth, perhaps the most common and desired one is through a patient’s individual insurance plan. These private payers are regulated by state laws that tell those companies the minimum they are required to cover in terms of services. Each state, however, has the ability to write these laws as they see fit. These are called “parity” laws, where the states require private payers offering commercial plans in their state to cover or reimburse for telemedicine services the same as they would for the same service delivered via in-person or face-to-face delivery, with a wide spectrum of conditions and caveats. To see whether your state has enacted parity legislation, see our map at the link below, taken from the American Telehealth Association website.
Medicaid
What is the Medicaid telemedicine policy in my state?
Getting reimbursed for telehealth services through Medicaid is tricky, as each state has its own law governing what is covered and how it’s reimbursed. On top of that, every year there is more and more legislation passed at the state level affecting telehealth and Medicaid policy. Stay on top of the most current information by reading the Center for Connected Health Policy’s 50-state Medicaid Policy Scan. They have also presented the included information in an easy-to-read Infograph and Fact Sheet.
Policy
Online Prescribing
What are the requirements for Medicare to reimburse for telemedicine?
Medicare is one of the largest providers of health insurance in the country, and many people rely on it to be able to afford medical services in a variety of specialties. They also have a very complicated reimbursement process, with very specific requirements for when they will cover services delivered through telehealth. View our resource page at the link below, with information taken from the Telehealth Resource Center’s informational booklet on the subject.
Is where my patient is located eligible for Medicare telehealth payment? Is it considered “rural” or a Healthcare Professional Shortage Area by Medicare?
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services only covers telehealth services when the service beneficiary is located in specific geographic areas. The CMS resource booklet defines that type of area as: “a county outside of a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA); OR a rural Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) located in a rural census tract”. The Health Resources and Services Administration provides two tools to assist providers in determining if their chosen originating site lies within one of those areas for the purpose of reimbursing telehealth services.
What specific types of telehealth services will Medicare pay for?
Every year, CMS publishes a list of CPT & HCPCS codes that they will accept on claims for reimbursement of telehealth services. They also accept requests for the consideration of two types of new codes to be added to that list for the next year: Category 1, which include services that are similar to items that are currently on the list of telehealth-acceptable codes; and Category 2, which are services that are not similar to the current list of telehealth-acceptable codes. The list of codes from the current year and previous year is available on the CMS website.
Legislation
What are the current and pending legislations in my state and federally that pertain to telehealth?
Each year there are more and more laws passed and regulations approved that advance the accessibility and practicality of using telemedicine in everyday medical practices. The Center for Connected Health Policy has an interactive map and searchable tracker designed to help you easily look up and access the current and pending legislation and regulations in any state that pertain to all aspects of telehealth.
Does my state have a law that requires private payers to reimburse telemedicine services the same as in-person services?
While there are many ways to get paid for offering medical services via telehealth, perhaps the most common and desired one is through a patient’s individual insurance plan. These private payers are regulated by state laws that tell those companies the minimum they are required to cover in terms of services. Each state, however, has the ability to write these laws as they see fit. These are called “parity” laws, where the states require private payers offering commercial plans in their state to cover or reimburse for telemedicine services the same as they would for the same service delivered via in-person or face-to-face delivery, with a wide spectrum of conditions and caveats. To see whether your state has enacted parity legislation, see our map at the link below, taken from the American Telehealth Association website.
Medicaid
What is the Medicaid telemedicine policy in my state?
Getting reimbursed for telehealth services through Medicaid is tricky, as each state has its own law governing what is covered and how it’s reimbursed. On top of that, every year there is more and more legislation passed at the state level affecting telehealth and Medicaid policy. Stay on top of the most current information by reading the Center for Connected Health Policy’s 50-state Medicaid Policy Scan. They have also presented the included information in an easy-to-read Infograph and Fact Sheet.