New Medicare Telehealth Changes Add Origination Sites & Consultation Codes

OPEN MINDS Weekly News Wire Strategic Health Care News In the most recent rulemaking cycle for calendar year 2009, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) added community mental health centers (CMHCs) as approved Medicare telehealth origination sites. In addition, CMS added follow-up inpatient telehealth consultations as a reimbursable service to be billed using HCPCS codes G0406 through G0408. CMS will reimburse originating sites a facility fee of $23.72 and health care professionals providing telehealth consultation services will receive Part B reimbursements as calculated for their service area. The new codes became effective January 1, 2009. The . . .