CMS Administrator Seema Verma said the extension of benefits is an acknowledgement of "the speed and effectiveness with which the American healthcare system has adapted to telehealth."
Medicare has made permanent nine telehealth services and will extend payments for another 59 services beyond the public health emergency in the ongoing effort to expand remote healthcare access in rural America, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said Tuesday.
In a media telephone conference Tuesday afternoon, CMS Administrator Seema Verma said the extension of benefits, limited by statutory authority to rural areas, is an acknowledgement of "the speed and effectiveness with which the American healthcare system has adapted to telehealth," which she called "astounding."
"Before the COVID public health emergency, only 15,000 beneficiaries each week receive Medicare telemedicine visits," Verma said. "But between and mid-March mid-October of 2020, early data shows that over 24 million Medicare beneficiaries used telehealth. This explosion represents nothing less than a seismic shift in healthcare delivery."
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During the PHE, CMS added 144 services that Medicare will pay for. Now, nine of those services, including group psychotherapy and some visits for patients with cognitive imparities, will become permanent Medicare telehealth benefits.
Medicare payments for another 59 services, including emergency department visits, critical care, and physical and occupational therapy, will be extended beyond the PHE while CMS evaluates the effect on care quality and outcomes, Verma said.
"These additions allow beneficiaries in rural areas who are in a medical facility to continue to have access to a range of telehealth services that we know work for them," Verma said.
CMS has also commissioned a study to examine the efficacy of the remaining 76 telehealth services added during the PHE, Verma said.
"The study will evaluate telehealth as a whole," she said. "In particular, we will examine remote patient monitoring and virtual physician supervision to assess the impact of telehealth on quality, safety and cost as well as potential for fraud and abuse. This study should help inform future efforts the agency undertakes."
The extension of these telehealth services will be limited only to rural areas, Verma said, because "CMS does not have the statutory authority to permanently cover telehealth for beneficiaries living outside of rural areas, nor to generally allow beneficiaries to receive telehealth from their home unless there is congressional action."
"Without a change to statute, telehealth will revert to a rural benefit, albeit with a significantly expanded menu of services," Verma said. "Congress has the opportunity to make telehealth available to beneficiaries across the country and allow them to get telehealth services from the convenience of their home."
“These additions allow beneficiaries in rural areas who are in a medical facility to continue to have access to a range of telehealth services that we know work for them.”
CMS Administrator Seema Verma
John Commins is a content specialist and online news editor for HealthLeaders, a Simplify Compliance brand.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Before the COVID public health emergency, 15,000 beneficiaries each week receive Medicare telemedicine visits. Between mid-March and mid-October, more than 24 million Medicare beneficiaries used telehealth.
During the PHE, CMS added 144 services that Medicare will pay for. Now, nine of those services, including group psychotherapy and some visits for patients with cognitive imparities, will become permanent Medicare telehealth benefits.
Medicare payments for another 59 services, including emergency department visits, critical care, and physical and occupational therapy, will be extended beyond the PHE while CMS evaluates the effect on care quality and outcomes.
CMS has also commissioned a study to examine the efficacy of the remaining 76 telehealth services added during the PHE.