CMS released a new interim final rule with comment period that grants organizations another round of flexibilities to meet the challenges of the COVID-19 public health emergency, including permitting hospitals to bill for telehealth services and loosening restrictions on COVID-19 testing.
On January 1, 2021, hospitals will enter a new world of price transparency. CMS put hospitals on track to face expanded price transparency requirements with a final rule released November 15, 2019.
Under both the 1135 waiver and the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, CMS is increasing access to Medicare’s telehealth services to allow beneficiaries to receive professional healthcare services without having to travel to a healthcare facility.
To enhance efforts to combat the opioid crisis in America, CMS policy allows for a new benefit under Medicare Part B concerning Opioid Treatment Programs.
Like other services covered by Medicare, observation must be reasonable and necessary or, in other words, medically necessary. The physician must document that they assessed patient risk to determine that the patient would benefit from observation services.
The Medicine section of the CPT Manual includes codes for a variety of services including acupuncture, vaccinations, and behavioral health assessments and is divided into 33 subsections that can make it challenging to navigate.
