President Trump Expands Telehealth Benefits for Medicare Beneficiaries During COVID-19 Outbreak; CMS Outlines New Flexibilities Available to People with Medicare
On 3/17/2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that Fee-for-Service (FFS) Medicare is expanding coverage for telehealth services, with an effective date of 3/6/2020 per the MLN Connects® Special Edition for Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Previously covered telehealth services are now available to beneficiaries in their home environments, regardless of geographic location.
Our sole intent is to make the claim process as seamless as possible for the providers we serve. While we do not anticipate claim rejections and denials relative to these telehealth claims, we urge providers to notify us immediately if any such problems are identified. We also advise providers that the National Government Services (NGS) Provider Call Center does not have any further information on this issue presently.
NGS keenly recognizes the challenges providers are facing as the country deals with this current emergency and we assure you of our full support as we navigate through this time.
NGS remains fully committed to a prompt and successful implementation of the telehealth benefits as a result of these changes. Please continue to monitor NGS website for additional information from CMS or NGS as it becomes available.